Southeastern Manitoba is getting ready for Canada Day festivities

Canada Day is coming up this Saturday and there are plenty of festivities planned here in the Southeast. 

The community of Vita always goes all out. This year they will have three days of events starting Friday evening and rolling right through Sunday. 

In Steinbach, Mennonite Heritage Village Program Manager Robert Goertzen says residents are invited to spend the day at the MHV. He notes they have a full day of activities and demonstrations planned from 9 PM to 5 PM. 

“We're just really thrilled to be welcoming the community. It's a free admission day, so come for an hour, come for half a day, come for the whole day, it's up to you. We've got lots of room and lots of space for everybody.” 

Goertzen notes there are also a few new events this year including a tractor show. He adds “They'll be showing up throughout the morning and at 1:30 they'll be doing some demonstrations and playing some games, like balancing their tractor on a balance beam and doing some chain pulls and a few different activities that demonstrate the skills of the tractor drivers. That'll be fun.” 

Like years past, the MHV will also be serving free birthday cake as we celebrate Canada’s 156th birthday. And, of course, there will be a lot of food options as well.  

Then, in the evening, Steinbach’s Recreation Services Coordinator Cassandra Kornelsen says residents can head to the Steinbach Soccer Park. 

“We have the cupcake giveaway starting at 9:00 PM down at the park. But as early as 5:00 PM, we have KidZone bringing bouncers out for everyone to enjoy. We have Silly Faces and More with a bunch of face painters coming out to paint, and then we have our big dance party. That's hosted by Summer Bounce, so we have lots going on at that park.” 

Meanwhile, Organizer Brooke Funk says St. Pierre’s Canada festivities will be hosted at the Sugar Shack next to the museum.  

“It is open to the public at 4:00 PM we're going to have a BBQ, we have a bouncy castle, we have hired a band to play and they'll play till about 9:30. We have face painting. We also have CanFire from Sundown doing our fireworks this year, and that will be at about 10:30. We have family games, ice cream, cake and coffee, and we also have a dunk tank which is going to be super fun in the heat.”