Canada Day in Kemptville

July 1st, 2016

Happy Canada Day everyone!

Today, I had a lovely time with my youngest daughter, Stella, at Riverside Park in Kemptville. There was a schedule of events on the municipal website. This made it easy for us to plan our day. We headed over to the kids' zone. There was a station set up to create bead necklaces and bracelets. There was also a mural where children could paint their names. We batted balloons with pool noodles and played Plinko. There was a wading pool filled with bubble soap and a variety of wands. Stella and her friend enjoyed creating trails of bubbles as they swirled around. They were also able to dig in the corn pit. It's a sand box filled with corn kernels and sand toys.

We loved watching the dogs running through the obstacle course at 1pm. They even had a few goats climbing the ramps and jumping over the gates. Most dogs needed prompting and coaxing. They had cue words like "weave" for the dogs to walk in between bars in a pattern. Then came the chocolate coloured lab. He was so excited to be there. He ran and jumped and weaved, no cues or prompting needed. We laughed, recognizing our own dog. Surely, Sweetie Pie would be this crazy, just happy to be playing. Since they get rewarded with food, you can be sure the she would complete the obstacle course asap.

We bought some food and snow cones at lunch time and sat with friends. That is what I love about old towns, you know so many people just because you all happen to be going to the same places-same school, same grocers, same bank, same gas station, same coffee shop etc. I worried when we moved out here that there would be nothing to do but, for kids, there are often programs to join and most are way cheaper than what's available in Ottawa.

There were free swims throughout the day. My husband and eldest daughter joined us at 3pm for a swim before the storm hit. There were stuffed ponies you could rent for $4. The children would ride them as the horse moved up and down, really neat. Two tents were devoted to face painting. One had traditional face painting, the other had glittery tattoos. The line ups were a bit long for those so we skipped it, especially since I knew we were going swimming.

I watched the local firefighters show children around the fire truck. Children could also try to control the fire hose with the help of a firefighter. As we watched the the hose spraying everywhere, my daughter told me she needed to pee. There was a port-a-potty nearby. I couldn't see any other option so I took her there and, to my amazement, it was clean and smelled fine. I was very relieved. On our way out, we watched teenagers jumping over bars with their bikes. My daughter was impressed. I was worried, "please don't try this at home". We grabbed some cotton candy and called it a day. Stella wants to go back for fireworks but they aren't until 10pm, way too late for her.

I was born and raised in Ottawa and for the longest time, my Canada Day consisted of trying to walk through crowds of people to watch buskers or lining up for hours in order to get food, watching people who had had too much to drink fight, make out, yell obnoxious comments or throw up. I rarely went out anymore.

I am satisfied with our Canada Day. There was so much to do. Stella got to see some friends. I enjoyed the community spirit and festive atmosphere. Thank you Tammy Hurlbert, coordinator of recreation programs in North Grenville! We had a great time and we were only ten minutes from home.

Anne Walsh
www.artnsoul.org