Dear Editor:

As we all know this year is Canadas 150th birthday. So we, being proud Canadians and fortunate residents of the Columbia Valley (Canal Flats, Invermere, Radium Hot Springs, Edgewater, Brisco) should get out to celebrate our national birthday.

It all starts off with our excellent fireworks display 12:01 a.m. Saturday July 1st and continues on with events throughout the day at various venues throughout our town. What has always been one of my familys favorite events is the Canada Day Parade.

While I was working at Copper Point Golf Course it was always a great event to get our staff together and contribute to the parade by adding a float. Not only was it a staff (team) building experience but it was also satisfying to see the faces of the kids and their parents lining the parade route hoping to catch a piece of candy or whiffle ball while marveling at the float itself. After all, parades are mostly for the kids and what better way to instill pride and community spirit in our youngsters than by holding this great event and explaining to them this is how we celebrate our countrys birthday because we are proud Canadians and we are fortunate enough to be a part of such a great country and community.

When I was a kid I was lucky enough to experience Canadas 100th anniversary and can still remember the celebrations and parade that were held. It is now up to our local businesses and social clubs to get together and make this years parade and events memorable for our kids and community.

As I have mentioned earlier it is not an overwhelming task to put together a float or some sort of display of your organization for the parade. A half ton truck, some homemade banners, perhaps a trailer or even a group of sports teams just walking along the route. The local fire departments, police and emergency responders already do a great job at participating.

Wouldnt it be a great project for DTSS students to get together and come up with a float project to inspire team building skills that would ultimately help them out later in life? For that matter our grade schools could also get involved. The options are endless.

I personally feel our local businesses have the opportunity to give back to our community by participating in the parade. You can not only make the parade bigger and better but also gain inexpensive exposure for your operation.

So lets get out there and give the community a day that will last in the minds of our youth and community forever. Oh and by the way if I remember correctly the organizers of the parade didnt want participants of the parade to throw items or candy to the kids lining the parade route. Come on, that is one of the highlights of a parade for the kids. Lets look at the rule for Im sure no one will get hurt by a flying Tootsie Roll.

David Lister

Invermere