Canada Day in the rain

In spite of insistent downpours, the Canada Day holiday in Chateauguay on July 1 did not get rained out.

With an umbrella in hand or a raincoat on their backs, a few thousand people benefited from the festivities offered at the Citizens' Square off Maple Blvd.

Since the site is endowed with a roof, the steady stream of entertainment was able to take place as scheduled. « Everything went well. When it rained, everybody went inside. We had seven or eight food booths and they sold quite a lot, » said Ernie Presseau, president of the Chateauguay & Valley Irish Heritage Association, the following day. His group was running the show for the first time. The main oreganizer of the Canada Day festivities for 20 years, Elmer Coffin, passed the torch this year, except for the Tuesday night fireworks display. A plaque recognizing his contribution was presented to him during the day's festivities.

«Next year, we would like the Canada Day celebration to be very big. We are thinking of bringing in Blue Rodeo. »

-Ernie Presseau

(Translation Dan Rosenburg)