Prince Albert citizens celebrate Canada Day

Canada Day was different this year in Prince Albert and in communities across the country because of the pandemic, but citizens still found ways to celebrate.

The Prince Albert Legion hosted a drive-in fish fry and the Prince Albert Multicultural Council held a Virtual Canada Day Celebration.

Fish fry a hot commodity

From 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. the Legion held the fish fry selling fish and hamburgers as a fundraiser. Upon arrival at 4 p.m. they had vehicles lined up all around the block.

Legion Executive Lorraine Gobeil said she didn’t expect for people to be lined up around the block.

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“No, we were hoping for a good turn out and it is turning out really good so hopefully we can keep up with everybody and get their orders in,” she said.

They offered both a drive-in and walk-up option for the public. They also did deliveries for people living in long term care homes.

Gobeil said people waiting in their vehicles were telling all the volunteers they were doing a great job.

“Especially with us not being able to do it at the park it’s kinda nice that we can do this for the people,” she said.

Prince Albert Legion celebrated Canada Day differently this year with a fish fry. (Ian Gustafson/paNOW Staff)

President Rick Hodgson said the money raised will go right back into the Legion.

“As of right now being shut down for three months it’s going to come in handy to keep up with the bills and stuff like that,” Hodgson said. “People supported us well – we just have to thank everybody for that.”

Virtual celebration

Beginning at noon until 9 p.m. the Prince Albert Multicultural Council began their Virtual Canada Day Celebration.

Featuring multiple performances and guests, Executive Director Michelle Hassler told paNOW the event went well.

“The production team is doing really great in keeping up the quality of the music, the quality of the video, which is the most important thing in this virtual celebration,” she said.

Screen shot of the Multicultural Council’s Virtual Canada Day Celebration. (Screenshot/Facebook)

She added the show took weeks and even months to prepare for, but it was worth it. The event featured 15 different performers and a few different live guests. The show will conclude sometime between 10 and 10:30 p.m.

“You know what’s amazing is we’re not only shown here in Prince Albert, we’re shown basically all over the world,” Hassler said. “We do have people watching from La Ronge to North Battleford, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Saskatoon and I do have a friend from Abu Dhabi. It’s just amazing to be able to not only showcase here in Prince Albert but show the world how we celebrate Canada Day in our community.”

One of the many guests during the celebration. (Screenshot/Facebook)

She said people have been messaging them saying they should do this every year because some people are unable to go out in the community and leave their homes and celebrate due to disability or other circumstances.

“We’ve been organizing Canada Day at the park for years and that was our focus, we just want people to gather in the park, have fun, families and children playing,” she said. “All of a sudden this one hits and we have to modify our celebration and then you see the messages and said ‘you know what the virtual celebration is really wonderful especially for people that can not access or leave the house due to disabilities and illnesses and it’s really great to know.’”

The Virtual Canada Celebration featured many different performances. (Screenshot/Facebook)

Hassler said it’s actually not a bad idea to live stream it again next year even if they’re celebrating it at the park.

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Ian.gustafson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @iangustafson12