Abbotsford celebrates Canada’s 151st birthday with its annual parade and festivities at Abbotsford Exhibition Park and Rotary Stadium on Sunday, July 1.
This year’s theme is Made in Abbotsford.
The main City of Abbotsford parade takes place at 11 a.m. along South Fraser Way, starting from Ware Street and ending in the area of Trethewey and Maclure.
It is preceded at 9:30 a.m. by the smaller Mt. Lehman community parade along Mt. Lehman Road.
READ MORE: Community of Mt. Lehman holds Canada Day parade
A family festival then runs from 1 to 10 p.m. at Abbotsford Exhibition Park (32470 Haida Drive) and includes an artisan market hosted by the Abbotsford Arts Council, community displays, mini golf, hayrides, pony rides and several interactive play zones.
Also on the agenda is the Fraser Valley Food Truck Festival from 1 to 10 p.m. The day’s festivities conclude with a fireworks show starting at 10 p.m.
The mainstage entertainment lineup from 1 to 5 p.m. consists of several community and cultural performances, as well as Abbotsford’s rapper Saint Soldier.
Saint Soldier’s music is a blend of contemporary and old-school, and his lyrics invite both a clear-eyed look at reality and a hopeful view of the future we can create together.
Featured performers from 6 to 8:30 p.m. are:
– Charlene Hart, who gained recognition as one of the top five female dancers on the show So You Think You Can Dance Canada and will bring dancers from her studio MC Dance Academy to perform a hit song from The Greatest Showman;
– the Abbotsford Homeschool Children’s Choir, directed by Betty Lieuwen, which has over 60 members;
– Norm Strauss, known for his world-class songwriting, storytelling and guitar playing, who will be performing the song Immigrant (which is the story of his father coming to Canada) with the Abbotsford Youth Orchestra;
– the Pacific Mennonite Children’s choir (directed by Betty-Ann Braun), who will sing a variety of music, including the stirring Canadian song This is My Home by Bob Buckley; and
– the Abbotsford Youth Orchestra, which will perform a variety of selections, including a choreographed tango called Por Una Cabeza and will feature a new composition by 11-year-old Rafael Brisebois called Simon’s Song, which recently won Best Student Composition at the Langley Kiwanis Festival.
The Aerophonics, the Fraser Valley’s homegrown Motown and blue-eyed soul revival, take to the stage at 8:35 p.m.
Soul singer David Morin is next at 9:10 p.m. Morin earned his stripes the hard way, busking on streets to make a living.
The Vancouverite of Metis descent is a guitar virtuoso, making a solo performance sound like an entire band is behind him.
Headlining the event at 9:35 p.m. are The Honey Tongues, an eight-piece “swamp opera.”
They combine Americana and indie swing with soulful harmonies and beat-boxing, delicate folk with stomping dance numbers, including accordion, saxophone, mandolin, and mouth percussion.
Visit abbotsford.ca/canadaday for more information.
