Tuesday is Canada Day and that means thousands of people will be in downtown Saskatoon for a day full of festivities.
Shad Ali, Canada Day festival director in Saskatoon, said all the fun gets underway before noon.
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“Food trucks galore will be on the Traffic Bridge … those food trucks are usually ready to go by 11 a.m.,” said Ali.
“All the programming activities will be on the west side of the riverbank, so along River Landing I, Nasser Plaza and River Landing II.”
One major change that people will see is that there will be no activities in Rotary Park, because that’s where the fireworks will be fired from.
“That means there are explosives in that park, and it would be unsafe for people,” said Ali.
“It would help us tremendously if people didn’t even attempt to drive, walk or bike down that road at all.”
The fireworks have moved locations due to the low water levels in the South Saskatchewan River.
People will also need to find a new viewing location for the fireworks.
“Anywhere along where the food trucks are on the Traffic Bridge, River Landing I, River Landing II,” said Ali. “There’s going to be plenty of free parking.”
While a lot of the focus will be on the fireworks, Ali is reminding people there is a bucketload of activities happening throughout the day.
“Face painting … characters running and walking around,” he said. “We’ll have a little bit of balloon crafting and there’s lots of games.”
Inflatable games, art merchandise, and other entertainment on the amphitheatre stage can also be enjoyed.
Attendees will be able to have their sweet tooth satisfied, as well.
“(Canada Day) birthday cake will be around 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m,” said Ali.
Ali is also recommending trying some of the many food trucks.
“Each year I just go down for churros … Pop’s Shawarma is always popular,” he said. “We got burgers, we got (hot) dogs — there’s just about anything and everything.”
Ali also said a group from Cameroon will be in the Bridge City.
“(They’re) performing this year, and we haven’t had that before,” he said.
Ali said Canada Day is a fantastic one that leads to a lot of cheer.
“There’s no better day to celebrate all that is Canada and the privilege that we have, the honour that we have to live in this land,” he said. “It’s a phenomenal opportunity to celebrate that.”
The festival anticipates around 50,000 people will celebrate at the sites on Tuesday.
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