Winnipeg struts its Canuck pride

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This article was published 01/07/2009 (6121 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG — It was a day when everyone’s true colours were red and white. From The Forks to Osborne Village to Assiniboine Park and from smaller community events to backyard parties, Winnipeggers made sure to celebrate Canada’s 142 birthday with pride and passion. Free Press reporters Arielle Godbout and Matt Preprost spent July 1 taking the pulse of our true patriot love.

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Thirty minutes after the inner-city community centre Freight House opened its doors for a Canada Day pancake breakfast, there were hardly half a dozen people sitting at the tables.

"It will pick up," Gary Grouette, the group’s president, said confidently.

And he was right, but for the next 30 minutes one family enjoyed the quiet.

April Courchene and her husband brought their two-year-old granddaughter, Janessa, to eat pancakes and sausages.

"Usually we go to The Forks but I chose to come here because it’s less crowded," said Courchene, adding that it’s comforting to spend Canada Day with her neighbours who also show up to the Freight House for the occasion.

Even as the celebrations moved outside — where Grouette arranged for pony rides, live entertainment, balloon animals and a birthday cake — the crowd was hardly composed of strangers.

Gathered were friends and neighbours, many of whom use the community centre in their daily lives.

John Bonany came with his daughter, Emily Hudson, who demonstrated tae kwon do skills, which she acquired from attending classes held at the Freight House’s gymnasium.

"I love it," she beamed, explaining that she’s been training for almost eight months.

Hudson’s instructor, Aime Braconnier, said Canada Day festivities are the perfect chance for the community to come together.

"In this area for sure, they all come out — the kids, the parents, the grandparents. It’s a very good family atmosphere," he said.

Grouette said the best part of the holiday is seeing families out together, adding that he’s been running the Canada Day party at Freight House for 10 years.

"You see the kids, but not the parents," Grouette said of a typical day at Freight House. "But today, you see the parents."

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Elvis put in a performance at The Forks for Canada Day — or at least Mike Boyle did, dressed in the Elvis costume he wore when he ran in the Las Vegas half marathon last December.

He dusted of the costume once again to honour his wife’s cousins, who arrived in Winnipeg from the Philippines a month ago and are currently sharing his house.

"We’re living with Elvis," laughed Adonis Zoleta, who was experiencing his first Canada Day along with his wife Rosaline and three daughters.

"The weather is nice here," added Rosaline, earning chuckles from Boyle and his wife Gayleen.

"Once you survive winter, then you’ll be Canadian," Gayleen told her relatives.

Canada Day also marked a different kind of first for Michael Drepaul, 5, who got a surprise during a pancake breakfast with his family.

"My first tooth fell out," he gloated, pulling back his lip to show off the gap.

Michael was with his two-year-old brother Robert, his parents Ron and Kathy and his grandparents to take in the sights and sounds at The Forks.

"We start with breakfast and we stay for the performers," Ron said of the family’s Canada Day tradition.

For those who wanted a dash of education sprinkled into their celebrations, La Compagnie de La Verendrye was on hand to demonstrate the life and work of the 18th-century soldiers who protected Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Verendrye, the famous explorer who explored Western Canada.

Compagnie captain Michel Loiselle said he felt Canada Day is as much about the past as the present.

"The importance of being here is to remember history and take history out of the books and give them something to touch, taste, see," Loiselle said.

"You should know where you come from.

"It doesn’t matter if your family name has been here for hundreds of years, or you’re First Nations, or you’re a newcomer. You should celebrate your country."

— Compiled by Arielle Godbout