WAYNE SCANLAN,
By Monday, the Canada Day Hype had given way to the Canada Day Hangover. Now what? Now, just possibly, the best is yet to come.
The July 1 bash on Parliament Hill, which had its moments beyond the logistical issues and weather, was never supposed to define Canada’s 150th birthday. The sesquicentennial has always been an occasion to celebrate throughout the year, rather than on a single, bloated weekend.
So, in some respects, the encore to the Canada Day weekend is — onward to the good stuff, another six months of Canada 150 events minus the singular focus of July 1. Consider Saturday’s fireworks not a closing act but the opening ceremonies to a furious half-year of activities in and around the nation’s capital.
Even as staff were cleaning up from the party on the Hill, organizers across town were setting up the final touches at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility for the Canadian Track and Field Championships.
One of the lesser-hyped events of the sesquicentennial, the national championships have a chance to be radiant, an under-the-radar surprise under improving weather skies.
Less than a year ago Canadians were glued to the tube watching Summer Olympic stars like sprinter André De Grasse, middle-distance runner Melissa Bishop of Eganville, decathlete Damian Warner and highjumper Derek Drouin compete in Rio. Now, they’re all performing down the street at Mooney’s Bay.
The meet runs through to July 9, with most of the big finals built around the weekend. With the 2017 world championships in London just a month away, Canada’s track and field elite won’t be mailing it in. They’re in form and primed to peak for the worlds. We can see for ourselves if De Grasse looks poised to become the heir apparent to the immortal Usain Bolt.
The International Para-Athletics Challenge is also happening at Terry Fox this week, featuring, among others, local track standout Larissa Brown.
If star power lights your fuse, look no further than the green turf of the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club next month when Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls plays in front of some of the largest galleries Ottawa golf fans have ever seen.
Brooke, who doesn’t turn 20 until September, is poised for superstardom on the LPGA Tour, having already won four times on the circuit, including a major tournament, as a teenager. With a victory last month in the Meijer LPGA Classic before finishing second at the Women’s PGA Championship on Sunday (competing as the defending champ), Henderson is in top form ahead of the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open in Ottawa Aug. 21-27.
An honorary member at the Hunt, Henderson explores the course when she can, to learn its nuances. For many, the LPGA event will be the sports highlight of the summer in the Capital.
From there, the feature attractions of 2017 are back-loaded toward the end of the calendar year. Who says the fuss is over after July 1? In a three-week span between Nov. 26 and Dec. 16, Ottawa will play host to three massive national stories:
The 2017 Grey Cup and festival, culminating in the Nov. 26 game at TD Place. In previous Cup festivals, Ottawa has proved it can party. Now, it has also proved it can play some football. There is a decent chance the Redblacks will be in this Cup game, defending their own title. (No pressure). If it happens, the atmosphere around Lansdowne will be electric.
The Olympic Curling Trials, Dec. 2-10 at Canadian Tire Centre. Personally, I’d prefer this event was at the TD Place Arena, which rocked last year’s Brier. But if they can fill the rink in Kanata, it will be something special.
For fans of hockey (and who isn’t?) the Dec. 16 NHL outdoor game at Lansdowne will be, at worst, a local curiosity, and at best, a rousing spectacle. For all the criticism the NHL receives for overusing the outdoor game concept, it remains unique to the host city. In Ottawa, the timing is significant because it was 100 years ago, Dec. 19, 1917, that the Montreal Canadiens and Senators met on the first day of competition for the new NHL. So it was natural to bring back Ottawa’s greatest hockey rival to renew hostilities with an added air of festivity.
These are just a few of the sporting highlights.
Overlapping the prelude to the LPGA golf, Guns N’ Roses and Our Lady Peace are at Lansdowne as part of the YOWttawa music fest on Aug. 21.
Prior to that, the Kontinuum takes the beat underground with a futuristic sound and light show at the Lyon LRT station. For some reason this event intrigues me. It was supposed to be ready for Canada Day, but just might find its own audience, beginning July 15. As our headline suggested of Kontinuum, “It will be lit.”
So will the rest of 2017. Let’s get the party started.