Trevor’s Cross Canada Travels

Happy Birthday Canada!

I have always considered myself a proud Canadian.- heck I studied this place at every opportunity in school/university - and usually make an effort to ring in Canada Day with some sort of festival or fun times at a cottage with friends.    For obvious reasons, this Canada Day was feeling extra special…  Regina put on a show that did not disappoint! I should also note, nor did Rick’s Breakfast.  Mmm…:).

My first official Canada Day activity was wandering around the festival at Wascana Lake - Super!  Lots of fun… Martial Arts Demonstrations, Dog Shows/Agility Courses, Vendors, Live Music, Face Painting, and Food Galore!!  It rivaled any other celebration I have been to (including, dare I say, Ottawa?? ;)).  After playing in the sea of red and white and taking in a homemade boat race (lots of ships sank, but many a valiant effort)… I headed to the Royal Saskatchewan Museum.  The exhibits centred on the natural history of the province, First Nations, and a little bit of modern life in the Sask.  The requisite dinosaurs were to be found with the additional surprise of a robotic T-Rex. just off the main foyer!  The museum is free, quite well done, and served as a nice way to get out of the heat… quite warm on these Prairies!!

Next up was the release of my inner political ‘geekdom’… a tour of the Legislative Assembly.  Interestingly, I was the only person from out of Province on the tour.  I will be interested to see the breakdown of my tour group in TO… does anyone from Ontario go?  Saskatchewan officially became a province along with Alberta in 1905.  The Legislature was built on the premise that eventually 15M people would live in Saskatchewan.  Well, the current pop. is shy of 1M, so there is definitely room still to grow…;).  A few interesting points: there are 34 different kinds of marble in the building, the assembly floor is red and no one knows why (traditionally a huge faux pas for ‘common’ assemblies, as red is a royal colour), and there is currently a 29 - 28 split between Saskatchewan’s two political parties.  Thus, making the physical presence of MLAs absolutely vital to getting things done- even with a majority gov’t!!  During the latest session, when one of the governing party’s MLAs took ill, an agreement was reached where one of the opposition MPs would sit out during votes to maintain the political balance.  Technically, they could have been really evil and forced an election… though I am not sure that would have made them very popular!  Okay, enough geek talk…

I could not let Canada Day go by without at least seeing a ‘mountie’… so after a brief stop at the ‘Nest’ and a great chat with Rick and Denise, I headed out to the Sunset Ceremony at the RCMP Training Academy.  WOW!  Seeing the ‘Scarlet’, hearing the music, watching the drills (some are even used in the Musical Ride)… just cool and incredibly ‘Canadian’.  There was a huge crowd and was even attended by the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan.  If you are in Regina on Canada Day or a Tuesday during the summer months… I highly recommend.  The academy is home to both the oldest and newest buildings in Regina.  The Chapel has been here since the late 1800s and the new Heritage Centre (spectacular!) opened its doors in May.

After the ceremony, I walked back to Wascana Lake for the fireworks display.  The technology is centuries old and they always start late… but you can’t help but feel the excitement in the air leading up to them and participate in the ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ as they go off!  There is just something about fireworks - this sentiment can be experienced across the country and around the world for that matter.  The crowd cheered loudly during the finale and after 20 minutes of wonder, Canada’s 140th birthday was celebrated with a spectacular bang…;).  I know, so funny I be.

To bed I went with a trek to Moose Jaw on the day’s horizon…