Celebrating Canada Day with a bag full of fun
Another Canada Day during a pandemic is fast approaching, and staff at Annandale National Historic Site in Tillsonburg are not going to let Canada’s birthday go by this year without a celebration.
“We’ve got ‘Canada Day in the bag’ for you!” said Patricia Phelps, manager of Culture and Heritage/Curator at ANHS.
Annandale National Historic Site traditionally holds a Canada Day Fun Fair on the front lawn and inside Annandale House. This year, because museums cannot reopen until Step 3 of the province’s reopening plan (which could be mid-late July), ANHS is planning something different.
“We’ve come up with an idea so that we can bring a little bit of Fun Fair to people in Tillsonburg,” said Phelps.
Partnering with Sobeys Tillsonburg, who came onboard as a sponsor, museum staff members have created a fun-filled Canada Day Bag based on some of their most popular fun fair booths.
In the Canada Day Bag will be a cake mix and can of icing, compliments of Sobeys, paper Canadian flags, Canadian flag pins (one per family member while supplies last), pictures of otters (to create your own Otter Find at home), a Canada Day quiz, jar of jelly beans to guess the number of jelly beans (the answer is sealed), supplies to make a Mountie craft, balloons to recreate the Balloon Pop game, and a bag of various prizes similar to what kids could win at the Fun Fair, an assortment of Canada Day temporary tattoos, and a small bag of sparklers – all in a reusable bag donated by Sobeys.
“People have time to take it home, bake the birthday cake, hide the otters, and set up their own little Fun Fair for July 1,” said Phelps.
The otter pictures replace the stuffed otter toys that are traditionally placed in the museum to find on Canada Day.
“People love looking for them. This year, the idea is for the parents to put the otter pics out around their own home for their kids to find.
“So we’ve got ‘Canada Day in the Bag,’” Phelps summed up.