EDITORIAL — Big tent made Canada Day even better

EDITORIAL — Last year, the Armchair Mayor’s editorial on this day offered some constructive criticisms about the Canada Day festivities in Riverside Park. It said right here that something really should be done about the lack of shade in front of the bandshell during opening ceremonies in the morning and entertainment later in the day.

Canada Day is notoriously hot, and the poor folks in the audience positively baked out there on the grass. I also said the ceremony should start earlier and be shorter, and had some suggestions for other aspects of the day.

After that editorial, Kamloops Multicultural Society President Ray Dhaliwal replied with a letter saying the heat issue was duly noted and that arrangements were already under way to provide more shade in 2015.

Well, Dhaliwal — who was given the nickname Canada Day Ray by Transportation Minister Todd Stone during the opening ceremonies yesterday — was as good as his word. Citizens arriving at Riverside Park found a big honking tent ready for them at the bandshell. It made a huge difference. During the ceremony, Dhaliwal noted that I’d complained about the lack of shade the previous year, and hoped that people were enjoying the tent.

Clearly, they were. Not only did more people stay and appreciate the opening (which, by the way, was shorter than last year), but audiences throughout the day clearly appreciated it as they watched various singers, dancers and musicians.

To digress for a moment, last year’s silly situation at the beer garden didn’t re-occur, either. That was the one in which a 67-year-old resident was turned away because she couldn’t produce ID. This year, security was checking ID for younger patrons, but didn’t bother this observer when he walked by them.

So, could Canada Day, Folkfest and Art in the Park have been any better this year? No. Thank you, Multicultural Society, Kamloops Arts Council and all those volunteers. You really came through.