Canadians Invited to Celebrate Canada Day: Activities and Celebrations Feature Special Tribute to our Winter Athletes

Summary: The National Capital Commission (NCC), today unveiled the celebrations planned for Canada's Capital Region on July 1, 2009. This year's Canada Day Noon Show will highlight Canada's hosting of the upcoming Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games

On behalf of the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, Dean Del Mastro, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Member of Parliament (Peterborough), and Marie Lemay, Chief Executive Officer of the National Capital Commission (NCC), today unveiled the celebrations planned for Canada's Capital Region on July 1, 2009. This year's Canada Day Noon Show will highlight Canada's hosting of the upcoming Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Related: Canada Day Guide...

"Canada Day belongs to all Canadians. We invite everyone across this great country to join in expressing our national pride, and celebrating the fact that we live in a free, democratic, bilingual, and multicultural country," said Minister Moore.

"In every corner of our beautiful nation, we invite all Canadians to gather and celebrate our diversity, our history and everything that make us unique and proud to live in the best country in the world!" said Mr. Del Mastro. "Canadians of all ages and background, lets come together and share our Canadian values and our great enthusiasm for this special day."

"Canada Day celebrations in the Capital Region bring Canadians from across the country together and allow us to share our pride in our accomplishments, our culture, and our aspirations," said Marie Lemay, Chief Executive Officer of the NCC. "On Canada Day, more so than on any other day, our partners, staff, and volunteers join together to make the region a true reflection of our Canadian values."

In addition to looking forward to the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games, the Canada Day festivities will highlight important historical milestones, including New Brunswick's 225th anniversary, the 60th anniversary of Newfoundland and Labrador joining Confederation, the 10th anniversary of Nunavut, the 100th anniversary of aviation in Canada, and the 70th anniversary of the National Film Board.

Activities organized on July 1 in the Capital Region will take place at three official sites: Parliament Hill and Major's Hill Park in Ottawa, and Jacques-Cartier Park in Gatineau.

Parliament Hill -

Fostering enthusiasm and excitement around Canada's hosting of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games

The focal point for many Canadians on July 1 is Parliament Hill. Residents and visitors are invited to gather early on the Hill, as the celebrations begin at 9:15 a.m. with a procession that will include the Cameron Highlanders Pipes and Drums of Ottawa, the Colour party from the Royal Canadian Legion, and Olympic and Paralympic athletes. They will march from the Supreme Court to Parliament Hill for the traditional flag-raising ceremony at 9:30 a.m. At 10 o'clock, revellers will be entertained by the stirring military drill and music of the Changing of the Guard ceremony, which will be followed by the world famous RCMP Musical Ride performance at 10:30 a.m.

In the afternoon, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., revelers can take part in activities that will foster enthusiasm and excitement around Canada's hosting of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. They can enjoy a ski and snowboard trampoline show, a bobsleigh exhibition, and street performers and meet some Olympic and Paralympic athletes, as well as the Vancouver 2010 mascots, Sumi, Quatchi, and Miga.

Canada Day Noon Show

The Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages invites festival-goers to join the Governor General, the Prime Minister, and thousands of fellow Canadians on Parliament Hill for the popular Canada Day Noon Show (12 p.m. EST).

This year's show will include the flypast of the Snowbirds, CF-18s, and the Golden Centennaire Tutor jets, followed by feature musical performances by three-time Grammy Award and eight-time JUNO Award winner Sarah McLachlan (British Columbia); JUNO Award nominees Shane Yellowbird (Alberta) and Gregory Charles (Quebec); rock group Les Respectables (Quebec) with Gordie Johnson (Manitoba); composer-lyricist-singer Marie-Jo Therio (New Brunswick); rock performer Marie-Mai (Quebec); indie pop artists Hannah Georgas (Ontario) and Said the Whale (British Columbia); as well as the dynamic multicultural percussion troupe DRUM! (Nova Scotia).

Residents and visitors will also be able to enjoy performances by circus arts troupe Le Cirque Fantastic Concept (Quebec), So You Think You Can Dance Canada winner Nico Archambault (Quebec), and hoop dancer Alex Wells (British Columbia).

The Canada Day Noon Show is presented by Canadian Heritage, in cooperation with the NCC, and will be broadcast live on CBC Television, CBC Newsworld, on Radio-Canada Television, and RDI.

Canada Day Evening Show

At 7:30 p.m., thousands of Canadians will gather on Parliament Hill to celebrate our nation's birthday with performers from across the country at the Canada Day Evening Show.

This year's evening show will feature artists from across the country, including Grammy and JUNO Award winner Sarah McLachlan (British Columbia); 2009 JUNO Award winner Chic Gamine (Manitoba); JUNO Award nominees Shane Yellowbird (Alberta) and Cassiopee (Quebec); Les Respectables (Quebec) with Gordie Johnson (Manitoba); Marie-Jo Therio (New Brunswick); Marie-Mai (Quebec); as well as K'Naan (Ontario), Hannah Georgas (Ontario), Said the Whale (British Columbia), Cirque Fantastic Concept (Quebec), Nico Archambault (Quebec), and Alex Wells (British Columbia). The evening show will be preceded by pre-show entertainment beginning at 6:30 p.m.

The Canada Day Evening Show is presented by the NCC and is sponsored by Chicken Farmers of Canada, VIA Rail Canada, and President's Choice. An hour-long special of the show will be broadcast on CBC Television and CBC Bold, at 9 p.m. EDT, and also on Radio-Canada Television and Radio-Canada's Espace Musique, at 9:30 p.m. EDT and also. The entire show will be carried live on CBC Radio Two and CBC.ca.

Jacques-Cartier Park

Canadians will be able to get a running start on Canada Day celebrations by participating in the 5-km run (at 7:30 a.m.), the 3-km non-competitive run (at 9:30 a.m), or the 1-km kids' run (at 9 a.m.), or by cheering on the finalists as they cross the finish line in Jacques-Cartier Park.

Throughout the day, visitors to Jacques-Cartier Park will have the chance to climb into the cockpit of a Canadian Forces CF-18 Hornet as part of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of aviation in Canada. Sports enthusiasts will not want to miss the aerial acrobatics shows of the ski and snowboard athletes, the Flying Canucks. Kids of all ages will want to stop at the TELETOON Get Stoked Tour to play games and have their picture taken against a fun background.

From 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Jacques-Cartier Park's SIRIUS Satellite Radio stage will feature an entertaining night of music with IMA (Quebec), Radio Radio (New Brunswick), David Jalbert (Quebec), Beast (Quebec), Julie Doiron (New Brunswick), and Marie-Pierre Arthur (Quebec).

Major's Hill Park

Major's Hill Park will host an exciting all day line-up of shows, workshops, and participatory activities highlighting Canadian folk and popular arts. From noon to 5 p.m., visitors are invited to gather at Major's Hill Park's main stage to take in various shows, including Caridad Cruz (Quebec); David Myles (New Brunswick); DRUM! (Nova Scotia); the CBC Songwriter Circle featuring the Six String Nation Guitar, Julie Doiron (New Brunswick), Justin Rutledge (Ontario), The Sojourners (British Columbia) and Maybe Smith (Saskatchewan); and the Citizenship Reaffirmation Ceremony, presided over by citizenship judge Suzanne Pinel, C.M. (former children's performer "Marie-Soleil").

The Major's Hill Park main stage is presented in cooperation with the Cultural Capitals of Canada program of the Department of Canadian Heritage. The noon show will be broadcast nationally on CBC Radio One.

Visitors to Major's Hill Park will also have the opportunity to stroll the Avenue of the 2009 Cultural Capitals of Canada. Discover our Canadian cultural heritage through a potter, a weaver, and a spoon player from Coquitlam, British Columbia; painters from Whistler, British Columbia; a spoon maker, a storyteller, and a jewellery designer from Trois-Rivieres, Quebec; a silversmith and a weaver from Fredericton, New Brunswick; and a weathervane fabricator from Caraquet, New Brunswick.

Ottawa Jazz Festival at Confederation Park

Courtesy of the NCC, the Ottawa Jazz Festival will present free programming on Canada Day at Confederation Park. During the day, visitors will be able to enjoy performances by Amanda Tosoff (British Columbia), Michael Kaeshammer (Alberta), Bell Orchestre (Quebec), Gypsophilia (Nova Scotia), Carmen Souza (Ontario), Coeur de Pirate (Quebec), and the Worst Pop Band Ever (Ontario and Quebec). For a third consecutive year, young jazz musicians from across Canada will entertain revellers during the Jazz Youth Summit.

Canada Day 2009 - Measuring the carbon footprint

This year, for the first time, the NCC will be measuring the "carbon footprint" of its operations on Canada Day.

The NCC will use Canada Day 2009 as an opportunity to better understand current greenhouse gas emissions, particularly carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, associated with the event. Measuring CO2 emissions on July 1, 2009, is the first big step of an ambitious journey the NCC has begun towards environmental leadership, which includes preventing pollution and combating climate change.

For more information on the Canada Day celebrations in Canada's Capital Region, members of the public may contact the NCC at 613-239-5000, 1-800-465-1867, 613-239-5090 (TTY), or 1-866-661-3530 (toll-free TTY). They may also visit www.canadaday.gc.ca or drop by the NCC's Capital Infocentre at 90 Wellington Street, in Ottawa. For information on access to Canada Day official sites for people with limited mobility, members of the public are invited to contact the NCC.

For more information on the Canada Day Noon Show, please visit the Department of Canadian Heritage website at www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/canada

The National Capital Commission is proud to organize the Canada Day celebrations in Canada's Capital Region with the support of its national sponsor, Chicken Farmers of Canada; its official sponsors, VIA Rail Canada and President's Choice; and other sponsors.

The NCC also wants to thank the following partners: Association des auteurs et auteures de l'Outaouais, Canada Aviation Museum, Canadian Forces, Canadian Heritage, CBC/Radio-Canada, City of Ottawa, Cultural Capitals of Canada Program (Canadian Heritage), OC Transpo, Ottawa Jazz Festival Inc., Ottawa Police Services, Public Works and Government Services Canada, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Services de police de la Ville de Gatineau, Societe de transport de l'Outaouais, and Ville de Gatineau.

This news release is available on the Internet at www.canadianheritage.gc.ca under Media Room.

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