A celebration of Canada\u2019s 159th was marked by lion dancing, live performances, and a sea of red and white.<\/p>\n
For nine-year-old Quinton Ramsay, the best part about Canada is maple syrup.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere, there are no tornadoes,\u201d he added, listing the best parts about growing up in Victoria.<\/p>\n
His great-grandmother, Val Utman, brought Quinton to the Gorge Canada Day Picnic to celebrate, watch the parade and admire classic cars at the Show and Shine.<\/p>\n
Utman wore an \u201cEvery Child Matters\u201d T-shirt in support of residential school survivors.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I heard more about the Indigenous children going to residential school, I wasn\u2019t quite as proud to be Canadian.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Utman said she wouldn\u2019t want to live anywhere else, and while there\u2019s work to be done, she\u2019s happy to call the country home.<\/p>\n
Nine-year-old Ava Petley-Jones said the flag is one of her favourite things about Canada. \u201cIt\u2019s easy colours to dress up in,\u201d Ava said. \u201cI like the song, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her mother Jennie said she\u2019s proud to be Canadian because of the values the country represents. \u201cWe\u2019re known as being kind people and just accepting of everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doris Ilagan brought her family to the Gorge to celebrate the day while spending time together. She and their two children came to Canada from the Philippines eight years ago, while her husband, Michael, arrived six years before them to lay the foundation for the family\u2019s immigration.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe came here for a better future for our children,\u201d Ilagan said. \u201cFor me, it feels like freedom because Canada is a multicultural place where everyone is accepted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lisa Connolly\u2019s parents were visiting Victoria from England and joined in the fun, wearing full red and white outfits.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t have an \u2018English Day,\u2019 \u201d Connolly said with a laugh.<\/p>\n
She was born in England but has since become a Canadian citizen and said the overwhelming feeling on Canada Day for her is pride. \u201cIt\u2019s such a beautiful place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hundreds participated in the fun on the legislature lawn to watch the Canada Day Drumming Celebration, organized by a Vancouver-based non-profit that has been drumming for the holiday from coast to coast for 10 years.<\/p>\n
Free hand-held rattle drums given to the crowd made for a loud and proud celebration as drummers from the Wong Sheung Kung Fu Club performed.<\/p>\n
In the audience was an adult day program from Victoria Community Connections, which joined in the fun.<\/p>\n
Participant Sarah Gurney said her favourite part about Canada Day is \u201cgetting together with everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shanti Davis said the day is special this year, since she just returned from watching a Canadian soccer game at the FIFA World Cup in Vancouver. \u201cI cried the whole time,\u201d she said, adding that watching her team score a goal was a surreal feeling.<\/p>\n
Davis said that singing O Canada at the same time as thousands of others is what made her so emotional.<\/p>\n
Residents of Lewis Street in James Bay gathered on the quiet dead-end road to sing the anthem in unison, complete with a saxophone accompaniment.<\/p>\n
Linda Carlson has lived in Victoria for 47 years and joined in the chorus, noting that Canada Day is about remembering how lucky we are to live here.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople all over the world would give anything to trade places with us,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of nice to sing O Canada and remember that.\u201d<\/p>\n