2017 marks the 150th birthday of the true north strong and free, and boy, has Canada pulled all the stops. From the free Parks Canada pass, VIA Rail $150 youth pass, and the upcoming Canadian fireworks display at the Celebration of Lights, there are many ways to celebrate the nation’s birthday.

I spent this year’s Canada Day in Steveston, an understated neighborhood in South Richmond with a rich history captured through various museums and heritage sites, including the Gulf of Georgia Cannery (once the largest in BC), the Steveston Museum. The village has hosted the Steveston Salmon Festival annually since 1945, which has since merged into the larger Canada Day celebrations. Here are ten thoughts from my day at Steveston Canada Day festivities:

  1. Just to give some background, the townsite was already a salmon hotspot when it was founded in 1880, and it only opened the Phoenix, its first major cannery, in 1882. In the following years, the quickly-growing industry drew many workers from all over, including Japanese, China, European, and First Nations people. Eventually, these workers stayed in the town past the fishing season, growing Steveston into a year-round settlement.
  2. Not sure why, but I completely forgot this festival existed last year. Instead, I visited Lucy’s Eastside Diner and 17°C Cafe before remembering and rushing back to Steveston. By the time I got there, however, the celebrations were mostly over.
  3. For this reason, I was super pumped about this year’s festival. We even made plans to get there super early to beat the smoked salmon lineup. However, we ended up getting there late because of McDonald’s fries, which were priced at $1.50 for the Canada150 celebrations.
  4. By the time we made it to the festival, the smoked salmon line stretches across almost the entire path. Not wanting to wait the estimated hour, we settled for some excellent fresh kettle corn and Booster Juice.
  5. I wore my Team Canada jersey to the festival, which I got a few compliments on. One of the reasons why I went for this jersey is because it would be perfect to wear at any Canada celebrations, so that was nice.
  6. As part of the festival, many of the historic sites were open to the public, including the Britannia Shipyard, Men’s Bunkhouse, and Murakami Family house. These places aren’t normally open so it was a treat to be able to walk around and take in some of the history.
  7. The Chinese Bunkhouse was probably my favourite site this year, if only because it gave me a glimpse into my own cultural history. As a bonus, it also flies the Qing flag.
  8. Aside from the heritage sites, the festival also featured a boat show with an impressive lineup of fishing vessels, tall ships, and even the Royal Canadian Navy Orca-class patrol vessel Raven.
  9. This boat show was split into two sections which were connected by boat. We took it from the east pier to the wharf side which was awesome, because we got to see pirates!
  10. I first tried chimney cake at last year’s Christmas Market, where the chewy dough and sweet Nutella made me an instant fan. However, the one we got at this festival were a huge disappointment because the ice cream was basically cream and came out warm and in a state that was neither solid nor liquid. Gross.

Way I see it, the Steveston Canada Day festival captured the spirit of the village, and moreover, Canada. Now I’m not trying to say that Canada’s history is perfect, because it’s not even close- even parts of Steveston Village’s history is extremely regrettable.

However, it really is something special to see people of all ages, races, and cultures put aside their differences and come together to cheerfully wear red/white and celebrate the place we call home.