As usual, an update to things I have been doing in the community over the last week. Of course, this was Canada Week: A strange work week with two Mondays, two Fridays, and Canada Day in the middle.

Canada Day in New Westminster was long, hot, and full of events. I really should have left my Strava on to track the miles I covered on my bike during a full day, as I covered most of the streets of town trying to take it all in.

Canada Day in the Park is always a fun event, and this was actually my second chance to be on stage during the highlight of everyone’s day – speeches from elected types!

However, after all of that excitement, we continued the traditions of cutting the birthday cake, handing out maple cream cookies, and enjoying a picnic in the park. The Spray Park was in full swing, the picnic blankets were out, there were balloons and painted faces, and the tunes were great.

Speaking of great tunes, in the afternoon there was an impromptu performance by the Van Deca Choir christening the newest Pianos on the Street installation at the River Market.

This Piano was a fundraising project by Van Deca (who, despite their name, have a pretty strong New Westminster connection), and was decorated by the kids at Canuck Place. It is in tune and will be hanging out on the boardwalk for the summer. If you know how to play, drop by and throw the crowd a tune. If someone is playing a tune, take the time to stop and enjoy! Please, no wagering.

After enjoying a few tunes, I joined the crowds down at the Multicultural Festival put on the by the New West Philippine Festival Society, which was probably the biggest event yet held at Pier Park, with great turnout on the grass field to enjoy performances by cultural organizations from around the world – demonstrating the diverse cultures that make up this funny, eccentric, 148-year-old country of ours.

And, yes, there were a few speeches by elected types, but they were kept short and were immediately followed by coerced dancing by elected types, which the crowd seems to enjoy (see the link above for the embarrassing photos!)

I had enough free time in the afternoon to join a few friends for an impromptu game of Ultimate at Qayqayt field. This is a sport for which I have no talent, as it involves hand-eye coordination and quick reflexes. It didn’t help that the field was just a few degrees cooler than the surface of Venus.

But if I thought I was hot for our struggling Ultimaters, it was nothing compared the conditions for these guys:

Who were working for about 12 hours through the heat of the day without shade (except for the guy at the control deck, who I surmise must have been the boss). A long hot day out on the barge to bring us this:

Boom!

After a week of excitement stuffed into one Wednesday, I spent the weekend getting out of the smoke by visiting my Mum-in-Law on Saturna Island – as close to a vacation as I am going to get this summer! This gave me a relaxing Sunday to go through the Council package on the back deck, where I enjoyed this view…

Which unfortunately got a little less spectacular the closer we got to home…

Be safe out there folks, living in the middle of a campfire gets pretty old pretty fast.