In Bury on Saturday, June 29, Canada Day festivities took a less encouraging turn for organizers as Mother Nature played spoilsport, with intermittent rain the whole day, sometimes heavy.
Despite all the umbrellas lining the street, participants were keen. ˝Ohs˝ and ˝ahs˝ could be heard in the crowd at the sight of beautiful antique cars and gleaming tractors, as well as ap-plause for the fabulous horses clip-clopping along in the altogether colourful parade.
“We had a great Canada Day parade, despite the weather. Yes, the attendance was less than other years, but things are going well,” said Melissa Chapman, spokesperson for the organizing committee. Five others helped her in organizing the large event.
“There are activities for children at Memorial Park, such as the Olympics, the always popular inflatable games, and face painting. We always take good care of them,” said the dedicated and dynamic young woman.
Among several other activities and presentations, the family services centre La Relève provided information to visitors under the shelter of a small marquee. It serves families and their children in the 14 municipalities of the Haut-Saint-François MRC.
“We offer bilingual services for the English-speaking community, which is often more difficult to reach because local services are frequently lacking in English. We organize activities and interventions to support our clients, according to their needs. Currently, there is a major prob-lem caused by the housing crisis, with rent prices which have risen to the extreme,” said a spokesperson for the organization.

Translation by Rachel Garber