Celebrations, protests and fireworks: Montrealers brave rainy Canada Day events
Some celebrations have been delayed, cancelled due to poor weather
Montrealers came out in droves this rainy weekend to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation.
Along with the annual parade and activities in the Old Port, there were also protests in downtown Montreal Saturday afternoon.
Demonstrators marched through the festivities under heavy police surveillance.
It's not a celebratory mood for all. About 20 people at Old Port gathered for anti-colonialism protest. They walked peacefully around site. <a href="https://t.co/au4cQFAhLK">pic.twitter.com/au4cQFAhLK</a>
—@SMarandolaFestivities in Old Montreal
Old Montreal hosted a number of activities, including craft workshops, flag making and knot trying.
The military parade that was supposed to take place in honour of Canada's 150th and Montreal's 375th anniversaries was cancelled again.
These Montrealers are ready to celebrate. (Left to right). Regina Stefan, Maria Nastorica, Antonio Maxim and <br>Sergio Maxim. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canada150?src=hash">#Canada150</a> <a href="https://t.co/l0FifRY5s6">pic.twitter.com/l0FifRY5s6</a>
—@SMarandolaThere was a 21-cannon salute, face painting, art stations, cake, musical performances in the evening and of course, fireworks to cap off the day.
New Canadians were sworn in at 1 p.m. while the Canadian Armed Forces military band will oversee the raising of the flag.
The parade
While the weather isn't what many had hoped for, the parade in downtown Montreal went on as planned.
"It's only water, not soft drinks, not oil, just water. You get wet, then you dry off," said volunteer Léo Fauvel.
The parade kicked off at 11 a.m. on the corner of Fort and Ste-Catherine streets and wrapped up around 2 p.m. with the cutting of a giant cake made to feed thousands.
Local events
As part of the 375th anniversary of Montreal, La Grande Tournée is going from park to park offering free circus performances and activities for families.
This weekend, they will be in Kent Park in Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.
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At the Marché des Possibles near the Rosemont overpass, there is a family-friendly party including music, workshops and food. Admission is free.
You can also take advantage of the new lights on the Jacques Cartier Bridge by tweeting with the hashtag #Canada150 to make it light up red.
On <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CanadaDay?src=hash">#CanadaDay</a>, use the hashtag <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canada150?src=hash">#Canada150</a> to create red digital light fireworks on <a href="https://twitter.com/Montreal">@Montreal</a>’s interactive <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bridge?src=hash">#bridge</a>! <a href="https://t.co/56TazjBScZ">https://t.co/56TazjBScZ</a> <a href="https://t.co/9cSGXkFLf2">pic.twitter.com/9cSGXkFLf2</a>
—@Moment_FactoryWith files from Navneet Pall