Yesterday for the first Canada Day, the new Festival Park at Discovery Centre played host to local festivitiesâ¦. and I have to say, you done well Brandon et all!
I stopped in earlier in the day to take part in some of the more traditional family activities, which between bouncy castles, the childrenâs entertainment, giant games and food options hit the mark. Smiles abound, in particular at the foam pit where a count of supervising parent grins might just have rivalled a similar count of smiles on the kiddos jumping, running and sliding in the mass of bubbles.
The real star of the show though was the new Festival Park stage and amphitheatre, which when I returned with family in the evening in the lead-up to fireworks was packed⦠leading to the kind of outdoor celebratory atmosphere you just couldnât get in Brandon prior to this year. Brandon really, truly needed a facility like this and it must have been very gratifying to everyone that had a part in the project from the vision to the construction to the end game of organizing bookings and deciding how everything would be put into use.
Parking had been a concern for some going into the day. As it turned out the amount of space in the field used for vehicles was plenty and the organization/traffic directing within the lot helped to keep things as organized as could be expected.
Brandon Riverbank Inc released an attendance estimate this morning of 30,000 that will have come and gone over the course of the day. Hereâs to many more similar and bigger crowds taking in events at the cityâs new gem of a gathering place!
I've included a small handful of pics below that I managed to take over the course of my two stop-ins during the day.