It鈥檚 going to be a special year for our country.
Canada will celebrate its 150th birthday in 2017. The big celebrations, obviously, will come on Canada Day on July 1, when we can look forward to festivities from coast to coast.
But hopefully there will be a variety of events happening throughout the year to help us pay tribute to our wonderful country.
We have yet to hear of anything special announced for the local Canada Day celebrations. The communities in the southeast that typically have a Canada Day bash, such as Bienfait, will certainly have something this year.
The Estevan Kinsmen and Kinettes Clubs will host their celebrations at their play park in the Hillside subdivision, and they hope to have the grand opening for the outdoor arena on Canada鈥檚 150th birthday. We certainly hope they鈥檒l get to celebrate the opening of the much-anticipated venue in July.
It would be nice to see some special events happening around the region for such a milestone year. Those who were around in Saskatchewan for the province鈥檚 centennial in 2005 will remember all of the great community events that happened. It seemed like nearly every city, town and village did something in honour of the province. It was a lot of fun to be in the southeast region that summer, because it seemed like there was something big happening almost every weekend.
Obviously, it takes a lot of time, volunteers and money to make an event in honour of Canada鈥檚 150th possible, but we look forward to seeing what the great people of southeast Saskatchewan have planned.
There is so much that we have to celebrate in Canada, and it鈥檚 been well-documented. We boast such wonderful people, to go along with our scenery, our natural resources, our democratic systems, our work ethic, our diversity and so much more.
Yes, it鈥檚 easy to think 鈥淚 wish I was somewhere warm鈥� after we get a foot of snow dumped on us, to be followed by a blizzard, but the weather is part of what defines our country.
Even though Canada鈥檚 population is relatively small, at just over 36 million, our country is one of the economic powers of the world. So many surveys, over the course of our country鈥檚 history, have rated us as the best nation in the world to live in.
It鈥檚 why so many people from other nations have come to live here. And it鈥檚 why Canada remains such an attractive option for immigration.
We are the envy of so much of the world. And while we complain from time to time about the weather, our political leaders, our health-care system and other aspects of our society, deep down, most of us know how fortunate we are to be in Canada.
So let鈥檚 make sure we鈥檙e celebrating Canada, not just on July 1, but throughout the year. After all, our country will only turn 150 once.聽
