Bob Davis and his wife Gloria were enjoying the warm sun, sitting under an umbrella on the hill overlooking the bandstand at Lheidli T'enneh Park, just like they do every year Canada celebrates its birthday.
But this one, the 150th anniversary of our country's inception, made Saturday's Canada Day festivities more meaningful for the Prince George couple.
"It's just amazing, 150 years the country is, I can remember when it was 100 and we didn't think much about it," said Bob Davis. "We're going forward and America is going backwards. They've got no freedom down there anymore and it's sad. It's not the people, it's the leadership."
For Gloria Davis, Canada has always been a cultural mosaic which encourages the diversity of people from different countries and she doesn't want that aspect of our society ever to change.
"I like that we have open borders and have all these refugees coming, I mean, all of us came from somewhere and this is what it's all about today," she said.
The Davis's came early Saturday to hear the community bands play and were looking forward to going to Canada Games Plazain the evening to listen to the musicians lined up for Canada 150 Heatwave and watch the fireworks late in the day.
Abisola Bankole and her husband came to Canada 13 years ago from Nigeria and lived a year in Winnipeg before they moved to Prince George, where their 11-year-old daughter Temi and nine-year-old son Tolu were born. They spent several hours at the park Saturday taking in the entertainment on the stage and sampling the international food fair.
"We love Prince George, it's a beautiful city, and we love Canada," said Abisola. "We enjoy the multicultural environment where cultures come together to celebrate their uniqueness. Canada is a land of opportunity, it's a place where you can develop your skills and abilities and your talents.
"Anybody can rise from scratch in Canada. Although when you first come here it is very rough - the weather, there's culture shock for sure - but when you go back home you're not the same. If you're determined, you're dedicated, you're persistent, you are going to get there for sure."
Park Virdi, 25, came to Prince George from India to complete his studies in human resources and was enjoying his third Canada Day celebration at the park. Asked what he likes best about Canada, Virdi answered with no hesitation: "Peace. It's quiet, it's relaxing, you won't find that anywhere else. India is more crowded, it's always busy."
His friend from India, Gurbaj Singh, 24, arrived a year ago for post-grad studies at UNBC in information technology and even the cold winter the city just experienced was no problem for him.
"I think cold is better than heat," he said. "I am from the Punjab and the weather now is between 40 C and 50 C. I am blessed from God that I am here. I really like adventure places in Canada and my aim is to be here.
"I'm just gathering information about Canada Day and it's a very nice thing for me to experience. It's good to see cultural events like that. People are friendly and we can share our thoughts with each other, no matter where we are from. It's a very peaceful country."
Among the Canada Day attractions at the park there was a beach volleyball tournament, pow wow dancers, Thai fire poi spinning, preview of the Anne of Green Gables play, and for a small donation visitors could get their heads wrapped in a turban. At 1 p.m., an RCAF Lockhead CP-140 Aurora maritime patrol airplane buzzed the crowd with a fly-by appearance
Dennis Langlois brought this daughter Meghan and his wife Marites to the park to celebrate 150 years as a country and the freedom and open spaces they enjoy and they were most looking forward to the fireworks display launched from Connaught Hill Park. Marites is from the Philippines and has been in Canada since 2015.
"I like it here and I'm so happy in the snow," said Marites. "I don't mind the cold. Canada is a very good country. This is lots of fun."
Coralee Forrest was wearing her Canadian flag like a superhero's cape while she and her family visited the merchandise booths set up in the park before the opening ceremonies at noon.
"I've been doing this for four years actually, I just love Canada and being a Canadian so I go all out and got (temporary) tattoos and everything," said the 30-year-old Forrest. "Mostly, Canadians are known for being nice loving people and they love to help out and love hockey and that's what I love about being here.
"We all stick together, it's a community. We've been together for 150 years and it just keeps getting stronger and stronger."
