Who needs a midway when you have the best Canada Day cake ever, fireworks and much more?
Although volunteer organizers couldn’t secure a midway for this year’s Westside Daze, there was plenty of free entertainment to be had for all ages.
The Annette Beaudreau Amphitheater in Memorial Park was alive with magic, music and dancing performances.
The rain held off and spectators lined the streets of Westbank Saturday morning to watch some 80 entries from local businesses to churches and community groups in the Westside Daze parade.
There were dancers dancing, pipers piping, a marching band and the ever-popular free candy and freezies.
While it didn’t rain on the parade, those who chose to enter the parade’s Wet Zone got drenched battling it out with water guns, buckets and hoses.
Memorial Park was a busy place Saturday afternoon as families took in the Kids’ Fair and Okanagan Day.
Kids were grinning as they were bouncing, spinning and climbing at the free activities. They got their faces painted, their hair sprayed and their arms sparkled with temporary tattoos.
The Central Okanagan Dog Agility Club was back this year with a speed and agility demonstration that both awed the crowd and provided some amusement when a few of the animals were distracted by the audience.
Westbank First Nation set up a teepee village for people to learn about their culture. Kids could paint pictographs on rocks or walk around the grounds as part of naxaxaitkw, the sacred water being, known more commonly today as Ogopogo.
There were cheers and applause down in Gellatly Bay Saturday night as people responded to this year’s spectacular fireworks display, sponsored by Mission Hill Winery.
The Canada Day Show and Shine show saw the field at Memorial Park filled with vintage vehicles and car fans.
Many said the giant double-layer, cream-filled, strawberry-covered Canada Cake created by head baker Anja Dumas was the best one yet.
Westside Daze, a Canada Day weekend tradition for over 40 years, is possible because of the volunteers who organize and run the event, in kind and cash donations from local businesses and support from local government.