Windsor's 130th birthday celebration, Mayor's Walk are slated for Saturday
The annual Mayor's Walk and Windsor's 130th birthday party will give participants a chance to celebrate the city and scarf down snacks during a festivity-packed Saturday.
At 10 a.m., Mayor Drew Dilkens will kick off the event at the waterfront's Assumption North Park, just east of the Ambassador Bridge, with council members, the parks department and special guests.
“Windsor is a community unlike any other, and we have much to celebrate,” said Dilkens in a written statement. “We have worked tirelessly, made many sacrifices, and supported one another throughout the ongoing pandemic. It is wonderful to be able to gather together once again, safely and in person, to celebrate our city's milestone birthday.”
The Mayor's Walk will proceed along the waterfront to Dieppe Gardens and will feature performances by Abridged Opera, Windsor Light Music Theatre and the Windsor Police Pipe Band. Representatives from the Multicultural Council of Windsor and Essex County will hand out country flags that represent the homelands of some of Windsor's diverse communities.
The walk will pause at the base of the Great Canadian Flag — at the foot of Ouellette Avenue — for the singing of O Canada, and a ceremony marking the fifth anniversary of the giant flag's raising. That ceremony will include performances by the Windsor Symphony Community Orchestra and the Ukrainian National Federation Dancers.
The walk will continue through Dieppe Gardens and up toward the Vision Corridor (401 Riverside Dr. W.), where the city's birthday bash will begin at 11 a.m.
There, the mayor will be joined by Vanessa Shields, Windsor's new poet laureate, and Teejai Travis, inaugural multicultural community storyteller. The city's Indigenous storyteller, Theresa Sims, will present a song of welcome and friendship.
The party includes free hotdogs and cupcakes, while supplies last, as well as entertainment on an outdoor stage and activities, crafts, face painting, games and displays. Participants can also enjoy free admission to the Chimczuk Museum and Art Windsor-essex.
It is wonderful to be able to gather together once again, safely and in person.