How to mark Canada Day in Waterloo region, Guelph and area
Waterloo will have a drone show instead of fireworks
Tuesday is Canada Day and there are events behind held all day throughout Waterloo region, Guelph and Wellington County.
Celebrations begin at 7 a.m. in New Hamburg with a sunrise ceremony and end with fireworks and a drone show in various communities in the evening.
Cambridge
8 a.m. to late
Riverside Park, 49 King St. W., Cambridge
The Cambridge celebrations last all day with a fishing derby in the morning, a parade at 11 a.m. along King Street E. from Bishop Street to Eagle Street and then main activities getting underway at noon.
There will be opening ceremonies, followed by live entertainment, a zip-line ride, axe throwing, an inflatable obstacle course, children's area, hot air balloon rides, food trucks, vendors and a beer garden.
The evening ends with fireworks.
Kitchener
12 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Carl Zehr Square, Kitchener's city hall
This family-friendly event includes a kids zone with rides, games, food and entertainment.
There's a main stage with various local and Canadian musicians including: Rebekah Stevens, Tragically Hip tribute bang Grace 2, Terra Lightfoot and then headlining the evening is Sloan.
Fireworks will wrap up the evening, starting at approximately 10:30 p.m.
Waterloo
4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Waterloo Park
Waterloo marks Canada with a large community picnic. There will be local artists with booths set up to sell their items, various food trucks will be on site and giant games will be set up near the bandshell on the west side of the park.
There will also be musical performances on stage including Paper Cranes, the Waterloo Warriors Band, Undercover, Xperience Muzic, Drayton Entertainment Youth Academy and Bodywaltz.
The evening ends with a 100-piece LED drone show over the park.
North Dumfries Township
6 p.m. to 10:15 p.m.
Cowan Park, Ayr
There will be inflatables, a photo booth, games, food trucks, plus music including Rumble and Friends, Eric Jackson and Jessie T.
Fireworks are set to take place starting at dusk.
Wilmot Township
7 a.m. sunrise ceremony, 1 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Norm Hill Park, 251 Jacob St., New Hamburg
The day begins with a sunrise ceremony led by Crow Shield Lodge. The opening ceremonies will get underway at 1 p.m. followed live music, a vendors market, kid area and various food options including food trucks and the New Hamburg Optimist barbecue.
The day ends with a fireworks display.
Wellesley Township
7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Hawkesville Community Centre
The evening gets underway with a parade at the community centre and people are asked to dress in their "best red and white Canadian fashion." Then, enjoy backyard games and the movie Lilo and Stitch before the fireworks.
There will be snacks available for purchase. Donations to cover the cost of the event are appreciated.
Woolwich Township
10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Woolwich Memorial Centre, Elmira
The day kicks off with a public swim at the pool from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., then the afternoon includes an antique car show, live music, a magic show, kids corner, storytime and firetruck tours.
Guelph
3 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Riverside Park, 709 Woolwich St., Guelph
In 2024, Canada Day festivities were cancelled in Guelph after the Rotary Club of Guelph said it couldn't afford to run the annual event.
This year, the city has paired up with Supercrawl, which runs an arts festival in Hamilton and also owns Sonic Hall in downtown Guelph, for celebrations in Riverside Park.
There will be bouncy castles, live music and the evening will end with fireworks.
To help people get to the park for fireworks, Guelph Transit will be free after 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Also in Guelph:
There will be a 30 minute carillon concert at St. George's Anglican Church on Woolwich Street at 12 p.m. Bring a lawn chair to sit and listen on the grass at the church, although the music will be able to be heard throughout the downtown. The Basilica of Our Lady will also play in unison for the first few minutes.
The Guelph Royals will host the Kitchener Panthers for a Canada Day match-up starting at 7:30 p.m.
Market Square in front of city hall will feature red and white lights from 7 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Township of Centre Wellington
7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Elora and Fergus
The day kicks off with a pancake breakfast in Elora, followed by a soap box derby. The Dominion Day parade kicks off at 11 a.m., then there's a free hot dog lunch in Bissell Park followed by a duck race.
In Fergus, celebrations begin at 7 p.m. with various performances, live music and food trucks. Then fireworks are set to light up the night sky once it's dark enough.
Watch and listen on CBC
CBC is planning a full day of coverage featuring live events, Canada's Walk of Fame induction gala and a star-studded live concert.
CBC News' Canada Day programming will be available on CBC-TV, CBC News Network, CBC Gem, the CBC News YouTube channel and CBC News streaming channels, with select elements on CBC Radio.
Coverage begins at 6 a.m. ET with Heather Hiscox in Charlottetown as the celebration gets underway. At 10 a.m. ET, Adrienne Arsenault takes over from LeBreton Flats Park in Ottawa until 2 p.m. ET.
Meanwhile, CBC Radio brings listeners into the heart of the celebration from LeBreton Flats Park with hosts Piya Chattopadhyay and Elamin Abdelmahmoud live at 11 a.m. ET.
Then join host Saroja Coelho for Call in Canada, a live, cross-country conversation inviting you to share what being Canadian means to you, airing from 2 to 4 p.m. ET.
From 4 to 7 p.m, join hosts David Common and Aarti Pole who will be connecting with communities from coast to coast to coast.
At 7 p.m. ET, CBC News heads back to Ottawa for a special Canada Day concert pre-show hosted by Adrienne Arsenault with Elamin Abdelmahoud, featuring interviews with performers.