Elk Point Canada Day fun from pancakes and parade to pizza

Vicki Brooker Jul 2, 2021 2:30 PM
With no plans for Canada Day in place due to the 15-month series of COVID-19 regulations, Glenn and Shirley Harms of Lakeland Realty rallied the troops at the last minute and continued Elk Point’s longstanding July 1 tradition by hosting a much-enjoyed pancake breakfast for 500-plus visitors.▲
Bouquets of orange balloons adorned the bicycles of youngsters leading the bike parade up Elk Point’s main street on Canada Day, in recognition of the tragic losses of life at residential schools across the nation.▲
Morris Irvine and some of his 2nd Chance Trail Ride crew reminded Canada Day parade viewers of the importance of organ donation, as 2nd Chance gears up for their Tunes and Tailgates drive-in concert this weekend, rescheduled from early May.▲
The Irish Rovers once claimed that, “You’re never gonna see no unicorns,” but this one was definitely seen in Elk Point’s Canada Day parade, pulling a classy carriage fit for two cute little princesses.▲
Celebrity guest car Lightning McQueen, or at least a great replica, was a big favourite with the younger set enjoying Elk Point’s Canada Day parade.▲
Canada Day parade watchers enjoyed a cool down much appreciated in the 30-degrees-plus temperatures as the Jonny’s Electrical truck laden with huge tanks of water and a worker armed with a spray gun rolled past the Elk Point Curling Club.▲
The lure of free pizza or pasta had a lineup stretching from the door of Magic Pizza to well around the north side of the block, this second annual event a generous gesture of thanks for the community’s continued patronage through the pandemic.▲
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Elk Point had no plans at all for Canada Day 2021, due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, but Premier Jason Kenney’s announcement that the majority of restrictions would be dropped on July 1 set off a whirlwind of activity, with realtors Shirley and Glenn Harms immediately getting to work on gathering up workers, equipment and ingredients for a pancake breakfast, RCMP Sgt. David Henry getting plans underway for a parade, and the ElIrani family at Magic Pizza heating up the ovens for their second free lunch in two years.

An estimated 500-plus visitors enjoyed the pancake breakfast, youngsters on bicycles with bouquets of orange balloons paid tribute to the lives lost at residential schools as they headed off down the parade route, with more than 30 emergency service vehicles, business entries ranging from decorated cars to a shiny new cement truck, antique cars, horse-drawn wagons, a horseback rider, a unicorn pulling a carriage of princesses and even a Lightning McQueen lookalike following along.

Not long after the parade had passed, a block-long lineup was forming, headed for the pizza restaurant, where starting at 1 p.m., 150 free pizzas and pasta dishes were handed out in just 14 minutes, before everyone headed home or to the lake to find respite from temperatures in the mid-30-degree range.

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