Celebrate Canada Day in style with Friends of Fort George
Posted By Penny Coles
Posted 7 months ago
The Friends of Fort George are once again preparing to celebrate Canada Day in style, with celebrations that begin with a pancake and sausage breakfast served by the Friends at 8 a.m. in Simcoe Park.
At noon, the Niagara-on-the-Lake Rotary Club will serve a barbecue lunch, also at Simcoe Park.
Entertainment starts at noon, with Niagara favourite Frankie Phelan in the Simcoe Park Bandshell.
At 3 p.m. the Giant Cakewalk Parade from Simcoe Street along Queen Street begins, featuring the 41st Regiment Fife and Drum Corps, escorting local dignitaries with the giant birthday cake donated by Willow Cakes and Pastries.
Members of Group 137 of Amnesty International will be in Simcoe Park on Canada Day with petitions urging government officials world wide to stop or reduce current abuses of human rights.
“What we would really like is to have you stop by and chat with us for awhile about the work we do and some of the successes we’ve had. And yes, as usual there will be some attractive tote bags and T-shirts for sale,” says Martha Cisneros of the local Amnesty group.
The petitions will include a plea for the federal and Alberta governments to treat the Lubicon Cree with the respect due to them, as they are the owners of the land from which resources are being removed without adequate consultation by either government, says Cisneros.
It will also call for the release of specific prisoners of conscience and for an end to the violence against peaceful protestors in Tehran.
“If a good number of people take five minutes each to sign petitions, we will be able to say to many government officials, ‘We know what you are doing; we know it is wrong according to all reasonable humanitarian standards, so stop,” says Cisneros.
Willowbank, the Lincoln and Welland Museum, The Boys and Girls Club and Nyanyas of Niagara will also have displays in Simcoe Park.
Fort George is open to the public, free of charge, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., with events for young and old happening all day.
The Militia Kids Muster, the 19th Century Military Drill and Artillery, and the 41st Regiment Fife and Drum Corps will all be at the Fort.
At 7 p.m. entertainment begins at Fort George, featuring McPherson’s Rant, with instrumentalists and vocalists playing celtic, folk and pop music in their ‘down home’ style. This will be followed by a drum-in, with drummers young and old led by Penner McKay and his Drumming Fools, leading up to the giant fireworks display, under the supervision of the Niagara-on-the-Lake Fire Department.
The Friends of Fort George will have a barbecue with hamburgers, sausage, and hot dogs, cold drinks, coffee, ice cream, and doughnuts starting at 6 p.m. in the Fort. There is no admission charge at the fort on Canada Day.
The gift shop is well-stocked with books, memorabilia, and military items for collectors.
For further information, please call 905-468-6621.
