The Canada Day weekend is chock-full of events and activities all throughout the Columbia Valley this year, with fireworks and family events taking centre stage to celebrate Canada’s birthday.

In downtown Invermere, festivities begin on Saturday (June 30) with both the regular and Legion farmers markets running in the morning starting from 9 a.m. The Kinsmen Club of Windermere Valley will also be holding a Canada Day fireworks barbecue at the Invermere Home Hardware Building Centre on Arrow Road on Saturday starting at 10 a.m. to help generate excitement leading up to the annual fireworks event, scheduled to fill the sky with a fantastic display of lights at one minute after midnight. To get a good vantage point for the fireworks, make your way down to the Eddie Mountain Memorial Arena and look up.

For the big day on Sunday (July 1), Invermere’s annual Canada Day parade will take over the downtown core starting at 11 a.m., ending with the kick-off of the ever-popular Mountain Mosaic festival at noon with a wide range of performers and activities lasting all afternoon.

Meanwhile, in Fairmont, the Fairmont Fantastic 3 triathlon [Editor’s note: see page B8 for details] on Sunday (July 1) leads straight into the community’s Canada Day celebrations — a free public festival from noon to 4 p.m. Featuring a barbecue, kids’ rock climbing, archery, bouncy castles, a beer garden, face painting and group activities, the festivities lead into fireworks at the resort at dusk.

Canal Flats will also be taking part in the nationwide celebrations with fireworks Saturday (June 30) evening at the Tilley Memorial Park beach, while in Edgewater, a pancake breakfast graces the Edgewater Community Hall as part of their Sunday pancake ritual, which stretches well into August.

No matter where you are in the Columbia Valley, the Canada Day weekend has a little something for everyone, giving visitors and locals alike plenty of opportunities to take in what should be a fantastic weekend.