It’s a celebration

Celebrations kick off Friday night with fireworks

BridgeFest 150 will start off with a bang as fireworks are planned for after dark Friday night.

Staff at Strait Crossing Bridge Ltd. are gearing up for a busy weekend with BridgeFest 150 set to kick off tonight.

“Work is being done in Gateway Village right now as we anxiously look forward to the weekend,” said Michel Le Chausseur, general manager of Strait Crossing.

“It all starts Friday night at 8 p.m. at the Marine Railway Park in Borden-Carleton. We’ll have some music and entertainment and snacks before the fireworks show starts at 10 p.m.”

Saturday’s highlight will be the Burton Cummings concert, featuring guest Jimmy Rankin, at Credit Union Place in Summerside.

But the main event happens Sunday, with the IWK Run for Families on the Confederation Bridge, said Le Chasseur. “We’re really happy to be working with the IWK Foundation because that facility means something to everyone in Atlantic Canada. We need the IWK and the IWK needs us.”

For the run, the bridge will be closed from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will re-open following the end of the race.

“The run starts at 7 a.m. sharp, but we’ve also got funfilled activities running in the town from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. We even have a car show for dad since it is Father’s Day too.”

Le Chasseur is hopeful for a large turnout.

“It’s a celebration of Canada 150, but it also celebrates 20 years with the Confederation Bridge. People can now travel on their own schedule, and I think the bridge has delivered what it was supposed to.” Monette Burnett remembers the first BridgeFest in 1997 when the bridge opened.

“We were a group of line-dancers and we were invited to perform on the main stage,” recalled Burnett, a member of the Step ‘N Style Line-Dancing Group.

“There were 10 of us. We all went on a bus that would take us to the area. It was all a lot of fun.”

It’s surreal that it’s been 20 years since the first celebration of the bridge, she added.

“The years go by so quickly. It’s unreal. I’m looking forward to coming back for this year’s

event. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

“Thinking that we were there 20 years ago, makes it special to be there again. I’ll also take my first step on the bridge for the IWK walk.”

SUBMITTED PHOTO Veteran Canadian music star Burton Cummings.

SUBMITTED PHOTO/MONETTE BURNETT Monette Burnett, wearing the hat, and other members of the Step ‘N Style Line-Dancing Group are on the bus as they prepare to depart for the first BridgeFest, which was held in 1997.