The Celebration Canada 2025 outdoor festival, featuring Canadian music, food and games, is to be held at Hakka Cultural Park in Taipei on June 28, with people of all nationalities and ages invited to join the free event, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan (CCCT) said yesterday.
The annual event is held ahead of Canada’s national day on July 1, and is organized by the CCCT, in partnership with the Canadian Trade Office in Taiwan, with the support of the Taipei City Government.
CCCT chairman Brandon Thompson told a news conference in Taipei that Celebration Canada is not only a chance to honor Canada’s national day, but also for “people to come together as a diverse, vibrant, and inclusive community in Taiwan.”
Photo: CNA
“What we can look forward to is a full day of live music and cultural performances, with a fantastic lineup of local and international artists, a very friendly zone packed with games and activities for children, and a delicious selection of Canadian food, he said, adding that “yes, there will be poutine.”
The event is free and open to the public from 1pm to 9pm on June 28, and includes a live music stage, Canadian and international food market, a kids’ zone with interactive workshops and games, a Canadian sports zone for attendees to try out ice hockey, curling or cornhole, and lucky draw giveaways, it said.
“We invite you all to bring your family and friends to this unforgettable event,” Thompson said, as the chamber also encourages attendees to wear red and white to join in the summer celebration.
Canadian Trade Office in Taipei executive director Jim Nickel said Celebration Canada is Taiwan’s biggest foreign national celebration event, and it is also the largest Canada Day celebration outside of Canada, attracting more than 10,000 attendees each year.
“It’s obviously more than just a national day party,” he said. “We see it as an opportunity for us to celebrate our shared values — community, inclusion and diversity — that we respect, and the cooperation we enjoy between Canada and Taiwan.”
“This is an event which we get to showcase the growing friendship between Canada and Taiwan, and how it’s getting deeper and stronger every year,” Nickel said, adding that everyone is invited to join the event for non-stop entertainment and fun.
Asked about the Canadian dish poutine, Canada’s top representative to Taiwan said it originated in Quebec and became popular nationwide.
Poutine is considered a “comfort food” for many, and consists of French fries topped with gravy and cheese curds, which is “very tasty and filling,” he said.
Asked about US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on US trading partners and their impact, Nickel said Canadian companies and the government have realized that they need stronger commercial, economic and trade relationships with other countries and entities.
“We see Taiwan as an important partner for us in the Indo-Pacific region,” he said. “We understand and recognize Taiwan’s key role in global supply chains for many industries, such as microelectronics, semiconductors, sensors, vehicle parts, and information and communication technology.”
Canada has been putting a lot of effort into having a closer relationship with Taiwan, particularly in commercial, economic, trade and innovation, and with new US policy decisions, Canada has realized that it is even more important to further strengthen ties with Taiwan, which seems to be a shared view with many Taiwanese businesses, Nickel said.
Grant Sundal, principal of TCS Experimental Education, a sponsor of the event, said the first time he attended the event five years ago had “brought him home” by being around Canadian people, food, music and traditions at the event, so the institute has become fully committed and would have teachers, parents and student volunteers come together to join in this “community experience.”
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
The Taipei MRT is to begin accepting mobile payment services in the fall, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said on Saturday. When the company finishes the installation of new payment units at ticketing gates in October, MRT passengers can use credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, the operator said. In addition, the MRT would also provide QR payment codes — which would be compatible with Line Pay, Jkopay, iPass Money, PXPay Plus, EasyWallet, iCash Pay, Taiwan Pay and Taishin Pay — to access the railway system. Currently, passengers can access the Taipei MRT by buying a single-journey token or using EasyCard,
RSS