Thousands gather for Canada Day in Wascana Park

Canada celebrated its 157th birthday on Monday.

The Queen City held a variety of events at Wascana Park, including a pancake breakfast, beer gardens, a kids play zone, a strongman competition, and various live bands performing throughout the day. There was also an assortment of food vendors on site. Kids had the opportunity to meet Gainer the Gopher and select Rider players were there signing autographs.

The headliner of the event was B.C. band 54-40. Tristan Oremba is a huge fan. “My favourite band, 54-40, (is) playing tonight!” exclaimed Oremba. He said he was excited to see them perform and hoped to get a copy of one of their CDs signed.

Thousands of people were in attendance to take part in the festivities throughout the day, here’s what some of them had to say.

“It’s actually unique with all the vendors in here. It’s a wide variety, especially the food vendors,” said Ryan Carriedo. “The event so far is pretty good … We were watching the Roughriders band … We also went to the legislative building, got some free breakfast. Overall, it was just a good experience.”

Read More:

• Regina Canada Day 2024 events this weekend at Wascana Park
• In their own words: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s message on Canada Day
• Canada Day festivities attract hundreds at ceremonies, parties across the country

“It’s a great place to bring your family. We had our little toddler out here and just walking around enjoying the sites,” Kurtis Anderson was there with his family. “We stopped by and saw the Riders band. We saw the drum band as well, and we’ve just been getting some food and walking around.”

Neil Rathod said he enjoyed lots of family-friendly events throughout the day. “It’s a good event for new immigrants (to come) here and get more knowledge about Canada,” said Rathod. “There’s so many events (that) you can enjoy and have fun with your family.”

Canada Day is a day to come together and celebrate the unique identity shared between Canadians.

Tapas Das explained, “It’s the celebration for Canada. We are proud (of) being Canadian … Canada is the number one greatest community in the world … We carry values … we live by principles. It’s the best land to feel at home. It’s the diversity, for sure. Immigrants are very welcome here … Everybody from different communities are coming together. We’re welcoming.”

Anderson said he was proud to be Canadian, and one of the core values of being a Canadian was a sense of family.