For more than two decades, Kandy Filipovic has been the hands behind the massive birthday cake served up to Canada Day celebrants.
Born Kandy Cake, it seemed only natural for Filipovic to take over the tradition from father Tom, and create the eight-foot-long dessert for the Multicultural Heritage Society's annual event.
Filipovic's day began at 8 a.m. on Canada Day.
"It takes me three hours to place it cut it, fill it, ice and decorate it," she explained. And that's after several hours of actual baking.
After doing it for so many years, Filipovic couldn't tell you exactly how much flour, sugar and cream goes into the chocolate and white cake, but knows it's a lot.
By the time the cake gets its first ceremonial slices from opening ceremony dignitaries, it takes Filipovic and sister Joann Daponte up to two hours to pass out hundreds of portions.
It's contributions like the one from Kandy's Custom Cakes that makes the annual Canada Day event in Prince George such a success, said Multicultural Heritage Society president Shawn Bellamy.
Even in the early hours of the society's 40th Celebrate Canada festival, Bellamy could tell it was going to be a good day in Fort George Park.
"The fact that it's not a long weekend usually renders more crowds than usual and I'm just hoping that everyone doesn't get too hot or dehydrated and has so much fun that they just remember this event throughout the year," Bellamy said. "I think if there's one thing that this community does look forward to every year, it's this event."
The annual event typically draws upwards of 12,000 people to Fort George Park, with free admission to the space featuring a full day of entertainment. A variety of folk dancers and musicians regaled the crowd from the Kiwanis Bowl bandshell stage. The evening wrapped up with a free fireworks display set off from the top of Connaught Hill.
Opening ceremonies got the party going at noon with the national anthem sung in both of Canada's official languages by Renee Trepanier, as well as a rendition in the Lheidli T'enneh's Dakelh dialect by the Khast'an Drum Group.
"I that's Canadian heritage through and through when I see something like that," said Prince George-Mackenzie MLA Mike Morris during the day's opening remarks. "The multicultural society we live in today is an example worldwide and I think we exemplify that here in Prince George."
