#Canadainaday

September 7, 2016

I know it’s a little over a year away, but Canada’s 150th birthday is coming up fast. First, the federal government announced its 150 communities infrastructure grant, then Canadian journalist Peter Mansbridge announced he’ll be retiring from over 30 years with CBC after the network’s special July 1 cast for Canada’s birthday. Now, CTV’s Canada in a Day filming day will happen this Saturday, Sept. 10.

For those of us who are coming into the know late — those of you who avoid social media and the infamous Twitter-sphere — Canada in a Day has CTV calling on people across Canada to film their Canadian experiences and send them in. It wants every Canadian to send in a peice of their lives on video so it can clip together a broadcast that showcases the true Canadian experience. How cool is this? The entire country will take out their cameras, or more likely their iPhones, and film snippets from every walk of life on Saturday. I don’t know about you, but I think Bancroft has to make it into this film.

I can’t decide what I want to get on video. I thought of maybe taping a Go Pro to my head and climbing Eagles Nest. I considered renting a kayak and making my way down the York River. I once stumbled across waterfalls just outside the town with a group of friends on vacation, they were beautiful under the warm orange of the setting sun. Then there’s always Diamond Lake beach.

It doesn’t have to be nature though. On the Canada in a Day Facebook page are a series of videos already submitted by Canadian celebrities. Game of Thrones Greg Middleton shares filming tips, Jared Keeso from Letterkenny plans on filming his dog Gus, TSN’s Nabil Karim wants to share his family’s history, but many actors like Sonja Bennett and Erica Durance suggest it’s important to get across Canadian values.

If it were Bancroft, I’d think the number one Canadian value that could easily be portrayed is generosity. As I have told many people over the last few weeks, I have not spent a week here at the This Week without a submission or call of one group donating to the other. I kid you not, this week it was the Kawartha Credit Union donating to Hospice, last week it was Glen Keating donating to Seanna Dale, the week before that it was the Papineau Lake Community Association donating to the North Hastings Fund Development Comittee and more. I sat down with Community Care North Hastings to meet some of their wonderful volunteers this week. It’s incredibly heartening to see a commuity that works so hard for each other.

When I think of being Canadian, I immediately think of the jokes that surround being a Canadian. There’s our modesty, our saying sorry too much, the moose jokes, the igloo jokes, and now the Trudeau-hair jokes. I also, however, think of our cultural diversity. I think of the many cultures I’ve experienced just by sitting down with a friend’s family and having his or her mom cook something I had never heard of before. In my house it’s perogies and cabbage rolls and mashed patatoes mixed with pickled cabbage. In another house it’s quesadillas for breakfast. That was a delicious morning, and a delightful surprise.

Maybe there’s too much to fit into a single video. I pity the man or woman who will be editing and sifting through the videos that will quantify the amazingly complex nature of the wild Canadian.

Get out there and make sure Bancroft gets an honourable mention. Videos can be uploaded at canadainaday.ca.