Canada Day at the Forks

We could not have asked for a more beautiful day. The sky was clear and the sun rained its heat and everybody appeared to be in a party mood. The parks were all crowed. The Assiniboine Park was packed with people and their children, the Forks had a crowd that I had never seen before. There were entertainment at several corners of the Forks including the Aboriginal pow-wow, music and dance under the Canopy, streaming entertainment at the Scotia stage which featured several local bands including Cobalt, a young up and coming band that is receiving a lot of attention. It's a family band with Simon Gillingham and his wife and their two children as band members as well as one outsider. they have a great sound.
Under the Canopy were bands and dance by Define Movement and Fire Dancers. Define Movement was electric. They are cool.
I dropped by to see the escape artist a Winnipeg born young man of about 22 who combines a bit of magic with his escapism. He was quite entertaining to watch and did a few unusual things that I did not see before. He asked for his applause up front so to to attract more people to his show then when he was about to finish he asked that all the spectators donate something to him because that's how he is paid. He suggested a donation of $5.00 but thought his show was worth $20.00. I liked the fact that he asked for what he wanted and I think most people went up and put something in his hat. Cool.
One thing I found disappointing was the fireworks. I don't know if the government is cutting back - times may be too tough to buy expensive fireworks because I've never seen a lamer show that this year's. I was still waiting for the finale when it was over that's how lame it was. Unlike previous years sometimes they were able to do a Canada Flag light show but this year was pop, pop, pop pooop.
Anyway all in all it was a great day and I as thankful we had beautiful sunshine.