Stephany Peterson with the Saint John Canada Day Committee unveils the lineup for the 2019 festivities on May 30, 2019. (Brad Perry/CHSJ News)
Organizers are preparing for a big celebration in Saint John to mark Canada’s 152nd birthday.
Eleven days of festivities have been planned to celebrate Canada Day on July 1.
Members of the Saint John Canada Day Committee unveiled the full lineup during an event at Market Square on Thursday.
Stephany Peterson, a member of the committee, said it is great to see the work of so many dedicated people come together.
“With this year’s theme being the tartan, it feels particularly symbolic to be able to say that we are all a part of the fabric of society and that the tartan really represents that,” said Peterson.
The singing of O’ Canada and the raising of the Canada flag kick off this morning’s event. pic.twitter.com/4604ZJhEO6
— Brad Perry (@BradMPerry) May 30, 2019
The festivities begin on June 21 as they celebrate the first day of summer and National Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Peterson said the two celebrations coincide intentionally.
“We also decide to incorporate so that it becomes the embodiment of who we are as Canada — not just any particular kind of festivity or acknowledgement or ceremony, but being able to see those actually layered together, just like the tartan,” Peterson said.
This year’s National Indigenous Peoples’ Day will honour Gary Sappier, an award-winning Maliseet musician from Tobique First Nation who passed away in January at the age of 49.
The 15th anniversary of the Canada Day countdown will take place starting at 5 p.m. on June 30.
Peterson described it as a New Year’s Eve-style countdown which includes fireworks at the stroke of midnight to welcome Canada Day.
Members of the Saint John Canada Day Committee pose for a photo after unveiling the lineup for the 2019 festivities. (Brad Perry/CHSJ News)
“There are lots of different fun games and barbecues and the beer garden that happens on the boardwalk and entertainment that happens throughout the evening,” she said.
Canada Day itself features a jam-packed schedule of entertainment and activities throughout the uptown, including in the Market Square Atrium and on the boardwalk.
“Right from sunrise until well beyond sunset, there are festivities that happen that have been both a combination of those things that have happened for years upon years and things that are new developments,” Peterson said.
The festivities wrap up with the fireworks grand finale over the harbour at dusk.
Peterson said well over 100,000 people typically join in the festivities each year.
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