Hundreds gathered in Rotary Park for Canada Day Festivities

Rotary Park was the place to be on Saturday as the city celebrated Canada’s 156^th birthday under sunny skies, and beautiful conditions.

The festivities began with the Knights of Columbus pancake breakfast at the Merritt Civic Centre before moving to Rotary Park where the bulk of the activities happened.

“It was an absolutely spectacular day,” said Sky McKeown of the City of Merritt. “You couldn’t ask for a better day weatherwise to get the whole community out and take part in what we have here today.”

The Doug James Band rocked the bandstand from 11 until 2 with Hub International Insurance and Q101 hosting games for the children. The Nicola Valley Arts Council Arts In Motion trailer was also on site as well as the Merritt Chamber of Commerce Bouncy Castle. An added feature which drew many visitors was the downtown Farmers market vendors who moved from their regular location next to Baillie House to Rotary Park.

“Having all these organizations come together to put on an event of this magnitude is simply amazing,” McKeown added,” This just speaks volumes of how community minded people in the Nicola Valley are when it comes to giving back to the community.”

Because of the City of Merritt’s Fire Danger Rating sitting at extreme levels, there were no fireworks in the city however children and parents were treated to an outdoor movie at Rotary Park.