Keira-anne.com

You wouldn’t know it by looking out the window, but July is right around the corner and Canada Day is notoriously hot and sunny across British Columbia. Being the optimist that I am, I’m packing my swimsuit, sunblock and summer dresses and heading to Vancouver Island on Wednesday after work for a bit of solitude.

Photo: Ian Muttoo on Flickr

Many of you will be extending Canada Day into an extra long weekend, so here’s a quick round-up of events across Vancouver Island to help you celebrate Canada’s 143rd birthday.

Port Hardy

Join the day-long party at Storey’s Beach, kicking off with a parade at 11:00 a.m. and finishing with explosive fireworks. Crafts, games and a Duck Race from the Rotary Club will keep you busy during the afternoon. [event info]

Port McNeill

A pancake breakfast, fishing derby for the kids at Port McNeill Harbour and a special airshow at the Port McNeill airport are just some of the family-friendly activities being offered. The events kick off around 8:00 a.m. and runs all afternoon. [event info]

Campbell River

Campbell River promises to be the Canada Day party destination for the North Island, starting with live music the night before at Ostler Park. Canada Day itself is packed full with a children’s festival, even more live music, a parade and the Salmon Festival before a fireworks display brought to you by Quality Foods. Also, get around to the events with free bus rides on public transit between 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.! [event info]

Mount Washington Alpine Resort

The Island’s only alpine destination celebrates Canada Day with the Thrifty Foods Family Fun Day, running from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. A kids’ relay race, cookie decorating contest, bouncy castle and even birthday cake are part of the celebration. Don’t forget to take a mile-high chair ride while you’re up there! [event info]

Comox Valley

Canada Day is always an action-packed day in the Comox Valley! The 5th Street parade in downtown Courtenay, Ducky 500 race, car displays and BBQing at Lewis Park, dancing, concerts and so much more will ensure non-stop fun. This is most definitely where I’ll be spending my Canada Day. [event info]

Port Alberni

A long-standing tradition is returning to Port Alberni once again this Canada Day, starting with a free pancake breakfast prior to the 10th Avenue parade. The fun’s not done then, as all-afternoon festivities keep rocking at Glenwood Centre. [event info]

Qualicum Beach/Parksville Oceanside Region

The Rotary Club of Parksville spearheads the festivities in the Island’s premier Oceanside region, ensuring there’s something for everyone. Starting the day with a Canada Day parade, this day of fun is highlighted with a concert from Canadian rock legends Trooper at Community Park in Parksville! The day-long celebration wraps up with fireworks brought to you by Thrifty Foods. [event info]

Photo: tempest_kat on Flickr [used with permission]

Tofino

Tofino comes alive on July 1 at Village Green, headlined by the Tuff City Skate Competition. The Tofino public market will also be in full swing, as well as interactive displays, live music, a beverage garden, face painting and birthday cake. The day wraps up with fireworks over Tofino’s harbour. [event info]

Ucluelet

Uclulet hasn’t been left out of the party as they play host to the Colour Guard parade, as well as children’s crafts and activities, a family BBQ and live music. [event info]

Nanaimo

Canadian pride is strong in Nanaimo with an action-packed afternoon at Maffeo Sutton Park. Live entertainment, a flag parade and multicultural food are just a few of the festivities worth checking out. [event info]

Ladysmith

Transfer Beach in Ladysmith is the place to be to partake in a little fun in the sun. This family-friendly event is a free-for-all with events getting underway at 10:00 a.m. [event info]

Cowichan Valley

Canada Day celebrations are largely centered around cultural celebrations in the Cowichan Valley at festivities in and around Cowichan Lake. Story-telling, dancing, face-painting, multicultural music, arts & crafts, foods and a fireworks display are just a few things to look forward to. [event info]

Duncan

There’s no better place to be in Duncan than the BC Forest Museum. When you’re not riding the the steam train for free, nosh on hot dogs, jump in the bouncy castle or take in a little live entertainment. [event info]

Sidney

There’s no place more quaint to celebrate Canada’s birthday than than by the sea in Sidney. The day begins with a pancake breakfast and gets into full swing with a parade on Beacon Avenue, a family fun fair and street market before winding down the day with fireworks on the Sidney Waterfront. [event info]

Sooke

Sooke plays host to a very unique Canada Day celebration, bursting with tradition. Between logging sports competition, canine agility demos, a pie-eating contest and live music prior to the fireworks, there’s bound to be something to grab your interest! [event info]

Victoria

Our Province’s capital is no doubt home to the largest Canada Day celebration on Vancouver Island. Starting at 10:00 a.m., downtown Victoria comes alive with an open house of the coastal defence vessel HMCS Nanaimo at Ship Point in the Inner Harbour, jazz music, free historic walking tours, chalk drawing for the kids, a live ballet show and a vibrant fireworks display after dusk. [event info]

If there’s a Canada Day event happening in your Island community that isn’t listed here, feel free to leave information in the comments. For a complete listing of celebrations across the Lower Mainland, click over to Miss604.

Enjoy your Canada Day, have fun, celebrate and practice safe sun! To my American friends and readers, I wish you a fantastic Independence Day on Sunday! In the immortal words of Wang Chi and Jack Burton, “here’s to America’s colors, the colors that never run. May the wings of liberty never lose a feather.”

Growing up, most of us went through musical phases by genre, but in my case I seemingly went through phases based on geography. At one point I was in a British chapter, listening only to Duran Duran, Blur, Pulp, Oasis and The Verve. During junior high I was stuck on the U.S. of A. and couldn’t get enough of Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots. Looking back, the most loved part of my musical trip around the world was most definitely Canada.

Canadian music has, without a doubt, had the deepest impact on my personal musical history. While I’m not sure if the same is true for most of you, I know that for myself, I can pinpoint almost any time in my life and attach a song to it. When I entered high school, “Naveed” by Our Lady Peace was forever on repeat. During the summer of 1996, many day trips down Vancouver Island were filled by Sarah McLachlan’s “Building A Mystery.” High school graduation was marked with Bif Naked’s I Bificus and I can recall countless snow-filled walks through my mom’s neighbourhood in the Comox Valley with Sam Roberts’ debut record spinning on my Sony Discman.

Perhaps it’s simply the fact that, because these artists are homegrown, there’s a naturally instilled sense of pride when listening. Whatever the reason for the intrinsic connection to music of the Canadiana variety, it amazes me how nourishing it feels to re-visit my past by listening once again. Several days ago I purchased “Bobcaygeon” by the Tragically Hip on iTunes and have since lost count of the number of times I’ve listened to it. That is, however, when I’m not relentlessly spinning Closer, Sarah McLachlan’s greatest hits collection.

Maybe these songs feel safe to me. Maybe these songs represent times in my life when everything turned out alright and serve to remind me that everything is still turning out alright – or even better than before. Regardless, despite it all, this music ensures that I walk to work each day with a huge grin on my face. Yes, even on Mondays.

When the Persian Gulf War erupted in the summer of 1990, I was nine-years-old and verging on my 10th birthday. Over those warm months out of school, I spent most of my days wandering my Oma and Opa’s farm barefoot under the sun instead of with friends. I’d spend hours in the garden and bird aviary with my Opa when I wasn’t indoors with my Oma. She suffered from Multiple Sclerosis and therefore was generally confined to sitting on the sundeck or watching TV.

Though I was far too young to appreciate soap operas (and I still don’t), my Oma loved them and I was more than happy to keep her company on those afternoons. On August 2, 1990, Iraqi troops invaded Kuwait and before long, my Oma’s beloved soap operas were endlessly pre-empted for Persian Gulf War news coverage. Every image that my nine-year-old eyes laid sight on was of sand and tanks and military figures and Saddam, Saddam, Saddam. I was frustrated and childishly upset that we couldn’t watch our shows together all due to a “stupid war.”

The Persian Gulf War ended some months later, and some years after that I entered junior high en route to high school. There I took classes in social studies, history and comparative civilizations. Were I to enroll in these courses today, I would no doubt find them interesting while also understanding the relevance behind the events. In seventh grade, however, all my classmates and I could do was roll our eyes and question why we had to learn about something that seemed to hold no significance to a group of young teenagers.

Flash forward to November, 2008: I am now only weeks away from my 28th birthday and my world view is also that much older. The bombs dropped on Hiroshima, Japan decades before I was born. The Vietnam War broke out when my mom was just a teenager. I was only eight when the Berlin Wall crumbled and just 20 the day the towers collapsed in Manhattan. I am 27 and last night witnessed a country stand up for change and overwhelmingly elect Barack Obama as their next President.

The significant events in history are equally important to the events that happen in this world every single day. They are directly impactful on the life I live today. I live in a country where I can walk down the sidewalk and wear the clothes that I choose, believe in the faith that I choose, vote for the policiticians that I choose and make the choices that I want. That kind of freedom does not come without considerable cost.

Yesterday morning, as I went for my daily Americano as I normally do, there was a man on the corner of Hornby and Robson streets dressed in military fatigue, handing out poppies for Remembrance Day. He was quite old and I would venture to guess that he fought with Canada during World War II. He smiled warmly at me as I placed money in his collection box before allowing him to pin a poppy to my lapel. I looked down at his frail hands as they proudly placed the deep red flower over my heart. As his eyes then met my own, I considered all the things he has probably seen in his lifetime. It was all that I could do to blink back the tears that so desperately wanted to fall in gratitude.

History is not the stuff that text books are made of, nor is it comprised of a number of events that happened long before our time as individuals. History is happening on each corner of this planet, every single day. Last night, hot tears streamed down my face as the future President of the United States stressed the importance of United States, no matter a person’s income, sexual orientation, skin colour or belief. He spoke of hope and of peace while offering realistic optimism. As President-Elect Barack Obama so eloquently stated, “this victory alone is not the change we seek – it is only the chance for us to make that change.” [Source]

Like countless others across my country, across the United States and all over the globe, I woke this morning with a renewed sense of hope. I am a part of what will soon be known as history that has helped shape this world – my world – and the world that my children will some day live within. I can’t help but feel as though we as united people are about to experience the current of our river flow in a new direction as we all venture forward with both vigilance and great anticipation.

Last week I found myself at a walk-in clinic. While I was partly too lazy to trek across the Cambie Street Bridge to my actual doctor’s office, I find the medical staff at the Stein Medical Clinic [website] to be thoroughly professional and less of a headache to deal with.

I had a minor health glitch, one that had me diagnosed and out the door, prescription clutched in hand, in under 10 minutes. At one point during my time at the clinic, I do remember flashing my BC Care Card, but my debit and credit cards stayed firmly tucked in my wallet. From there, I walked to Urban Fare’s pharmacy, handed over my prescription and paid for it only five minutes later with, quite literally, pocket change.

To most Canadians, this is completely normal; to most Americans, this is a luxury.

To many of them, it’s a choice between visiting the doctor or paying this month’s rent. Canada, it seems, isn’t that far behind.

Photo: Brittany G on Flickr

Garnering both flack and praise, Michael Moore’s 2007 documentary “Sicko” turned the spotlight on the some 50 million Americans who are uninsured or are covered with such measly insurance that they’re victims of the system all the same. The problem at large in the United States is that health care is completely privatized, and in his film, Moore targeted his suspicions of the conglomerate insurance companies that were denying treatment to policy holders in order to pinch pennies…billions and billions of pennies.

Here in Canada, various levels of our Government foot the bills for approximately 70% of healthcare costs and the system is “designed to ensure that all residents have reasonable access to medically necessary hospital and physician services.” [source] A huge number of our citizens also receive further and more comprehensive coverage through their respective employers.

In a time where the almighty dollar is king (and making more of it is the name of the game), I have to stop and wonder how much longer we have until Canada goes the way of our southern sister. If and when that day comes, I’m packing my bags and moving to France. Who’s with me?

(Click here to view the trailer for “Sicko.”)

For those of us in Canada, November 11 is Remembrance Day. In the U.S., the act of remembering those that died for their country is known as Veterans’ Day. Perhaps the most visual symbol of Remembrance Day in Canada is through adorning jackets and sweaters with a poppy. According to the Royal Canadian Legion website…

“Each November, Poppies blossom on the lapels and collars of over half of Canada’s entire population. Since 1921, the Poppy has stood as a symbol of Remembrance, our visual pledge to never forget all those Canadians who have fallen in war and military operations. The Poppy also stands internationally as a “symbol of collective reminiscence”, as other countries have also adopted its image to honour those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Today, when people from all parts of Canada and from all walks of life join together in their pledge to never forget, they choose to display this collective reminiscence by wearing a Poppy. They stand united as Canadians sharing a common history of sacrifice and commitment.”

I am most certainly a woman who is not only proud to call herself Canadian, but also one who is forever indebted to the men and women who gave up their lives for the sake of our nation. I have to admit, however, that I struggle with the idea of wearing the poppy. My issue is not with showing others the respect I have for those that sacrificed for our freedom; my issue is with how a poppy on my lapel could be interpreted by others.