When Carrie Kellenberger was a child, her family celebrated Canada Day by roasting marshmallows on a big barbecue at their cottage by the lake in North Bay, Ontario.
“I am from a very small town in Ontario and my family lived in the country,” says Kellenberger, who serves as a chairperson for the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Taipei.
“From time to time, we’d also go into town to celebrate at our annual hometown Canada Day celebration at the local riverside park.”
Photo courtesy of Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan
Tomorrow’s Canada Day event at Taipei Hakka Cultural Park will seek to recreate this homely, celebratory vibe in a similar outdoor, natural setting.
The annual celebration, now in its 11th year, will offer a range of Canadian treats such as maple pie, as well as imported beer and cider from the Great White North. This year will see the addition of an art corner, along with the usual attractions, including hockey, line dancing, fireworks and activities geared toward young visitors: a face painting booth and bouncy castle. Not to mention the mechanical bull, which has proven to be hugely popular among visitors of all ages in previous years.
“You’d be surprised how many people take a ride on the mechanical bull,” Kellenberger tells the Taipei Times.
Photo courtesy of Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan
Though she left Canada in 2003 to travel the world and eventually settled down in Taiwan in 2006, Kellenberger still believes that it’s important for expats to keep their traditions alive.
“For expats, the longer we are away from our home country, the more important our traditions become.”
One tradition we will not be seeing tomorrow is the Canadian Snowbirds show, an air show put on by the Canadian Forces at Parliament Hill in the nation’s capital city, Ottawa, each year. Kellenberger recalls attending the air show as a young adult, something which she describes as being “always exciting.”
She adds, though, that in some ways, Canada Day celebrations abroad are more of a novelty because they’re also about sharing your culture, food and crafts with people from other backgrounds.
“It’s important for all of us to come together to celebrate the rich and diverse tapestry of communities in Taiwan.”
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