21st Annual Mill Woods Canada Day Celebration
 Another great Canada Day has come and gone in Mill Woods. We were a little concerned with the massive downpour that happened on Wednesday June 29th. This short storm dropped lots of water on Edmonton and turned the pond at Mill Woods Park into a lake. It also made the ground too wet to setup the stage on the grass. We were forced to switch to our usual place by the pond. Problem was, that area was under 4 feet (120 cm) of water. Just have a look at the picture below.
The organizing Committee was faced with a dilemma. Where to place our stage for Canada Day? We couldn't place it on the grass as it would sink into the ground. We also couldn't place it in our back-up location as the stage doesn't float to well. We decided to wait 12 hours and see what Mother Nature could do for us. She was kind to us plus the City Engineering Department did a great job in designing the Park. By morning of June 30th, the water had receded to the point that we could build the stage.
 July 1st was a fun filled day chock full of activities and entertainment. This year we had decided to move the Children's activities towards the Mill Woods Recreation Centre. We willed the practice field with tons of activities. There was a giant petting zoo, hay rides, bouncy castles, carnival games, face painting and we can't forget the "Science Experiments". You could hear the giggles of the children from all over the field as they tried their hand at being mad scientists. It seemed that the new location was a hit.
The stage activities were a mixture of dance and music. We, again, partnered with U22 Productions to provide us with a mixture of up and coming acts, all under the age of 22. There was quite a mixture of music and talent on the stage. The headliner was Shane Chisholm and he brought his alternative country sound to the stage. Playing is Astro Mini-Van Gas Tank Bass, he even involved the crowd in his act. Young and old, everyone was singing along with Shane.
This year we had a raffle for four 3-day Grandstand Passes to the Edmonton Indy being held on July 22, 23 and 24. In fact, we had 2 of these Family Passes to raffle off. The Edmonton Indy was able to bring in one of their Indy Cars to the stage for a short while in the evening. If you didn't see it, that was because of the massive crowd that it drew. The draw for the tickets was held at 9:45 PM on July 1st and the winners were jumping for joy! Congratulations!
 The event concluded with, dare I say, the BEST fireworks show in Edmonton. There isn't a bad seat in the Park to take in the fireworks. This year's fireworks display was about 15 minutes of music and colours being painted in the sky. Lots of ohhh and awws from the crowd of over 50,000 people.
This event wouldn't be possible without all the hard work by the Planning Committee, the volunteers that worked to put on the event, and our sponsors. It takes about 180 volunteers to pull this event off but it is our sponsors that help us keep this event going. Without their sponsorship, Mill Woods wouldn't have this fantastic celebration. It is their sponsorship that pays for all the activities, fireworks, stage and sound system. Please support our sponsors so they can support us again next year.
 Shane Bergdahl
Chair - Canada Day Committee
Mill Woods Presidents Council
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