Once the weather cleared, helicopter rides departing from the baseball diamond across the street from the Canada Day celebrations in Morrisburg’s Earl Baker Park began. After the helicopter appeared, they offered rides till well after 6:00 p.m. Tinkess Photo

MORRISBURG – It is a human character flaw that when we look closely at something, we tend to concentrate on what is missing rather than acknowledging what isn’t.

However, if you took part in the Canada Day 2025 celebration in Morrisburg, you would be very hard pressed to find something missing, and if you did, well, it says more about you than what the event had to offer.

Thanks to the efforts of an amazing group of volunteers, much of the setup was completed the day before, ensuring that everything was ready to go as soon as people started streaming in around 11:00 a.m. There was a full slate of musical talent on the Parks of the St. Lawrence stage throughout the day, and that provided a nice backdrop to everything else that was happening.

For people who wanted to stay out of the sun, (and the occasional shower)  there was a Bingo tent that seemed to have a steady trail of people coming and going. Chairs didn’t remain empty long, but at the same time you didn’t have to wait long to get into the game if you wanted.

The splash pad received a lot of use, and when the kids got tired of that, there was the largest selection of Inflatables I have ever seen in one location. Kids could also wander a short distance over to the pony rides and the petting zoo with an inquisitive selection of Llamas, goats, Alpacas, and other animals.

For those who were past the pony ride stage, there were wagon rides, with two magnificent horses providing the power to tour Earl Baker park.

There were vendors selling their wares, information booths promoting upcoming events, such as All about the River and Tubie Weekend, plenty of food selections from local vendors, including the Lions Club barbecued half chicken dinner. You could have a hot dog, a burger, fries, poutine, pizza, Tai, Beaver Tails, beef patties and much, much more.

There was face painting, a caricature artist, a best decorated bicycle contest, a BASH (Bear Ambulatory Surgical Hospital) for that much-loved toy in need of a bit of tender loving care, and even a mechanical bull ride and once the weather cleared, helicopter rides departing from the baseball diamond across the street.

And there were people, lots and lots of people, some local, many from elsewhere who just happened to find themselves in Morrisburg and looking to celebrate Canada’s 158 birthday.

The official opening came later in the day, with greetings from Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry MPP Nolan Quinn and South Dundas Mayor Jason Broad. Mayor Broad also mentioned that there would be a chance to throw a pie in the face of a selected politician, sometime after 3:00 p.m.

With the official opening out of the way, the Lions began preparing the barbecue chicken, and the smell from the wood fire wafted throughout the park. They began serving the dinners at five p.m. and many people just chose to stay in the park, because the best was yet to come.

If there were a lot of cars during the day, admittedly parked in a very orderly manner, there were even more as the sun set and anticipation of the approaching fireworks display increased. The North Dundas fireworks were cancelled due to a technical issue, which may have added to the crowd, so by 10:00 p.m. when the show began, there wasn’t room for many more (although they would have fit them in; that’s just the way things are done.

The evening was warm, the skies were clear, there was just enough breeze to keep the mosquitos at bay, and the display, while relatively short, was very well received. At its completion everyone left in a very orderly fashion. Seriously, everyone seemed to be on their best behaviour.

No surprise this, it was after all, Canada’s Birthday, and we are Canadians, eh? That’s just how we roll.