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Art and cars and pancakes, oh my!

Canada Day will be a busy one in Athabasca
ATH canada-day2020
Preparations for Canada Day in Athabasca are underway with the community pulling out all the stops to make the best of the nation’s 155th birthday. The Athabasca and District Chamber of Commerce has organized a parade for the morning and fireworks for the night, but there will also be a car show, pancake breakfast and Strawberry Tea, in addition to the first day of the Magnificent River Rats Festival. 

ATHABASCA — There is going to be lots to see and do on Canada Day in Athabasca so it may be a good idea to plan your day ahead of time, even if everything is within walking distance of each other. 

The art show will be at the historical train station, artists and photographers alike with all pieces for sale running 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. July 1. 

“Normally we just do an art show, but we had lower numbers participate this year, so we thought of photographers because they have some beautiful works,” said organizer Sherry Richardson. 

There will be some familiar names like Richardson’s, Lori Claerhout, and a newer artist, Brian Bittorf, and in photography you’ll find the likes of Monica Dahl and Wendy Appleby. 

Across the highway, and taking up the whole of 51st St. from 50th Ave. to 49th Ave. will be the annual car show, presented by the Athabasca Classic Cruisers car club. 

“We invite cars from all over the province to come and show their cars,” said organizer Dan Huber. “We used to get 80 (but) now I don't know if we'll get that many this year because of the price of gas, but we'll find out I guess.” 

Spectators can also pick up a ballot form and vote on which car they like the best and at the end of the day the winner will get the People’s Choice Award. 

“The competitors have forms to fill out and they pick the best car that they feel is in each category,” said Huber. 

There are 12 categories ranging from best 70s, 80s, or 90s cars right to specialty vehicles. 

“We have all the different years and then the trucks and the cars and we have one special category for these guys that bring hearses and army trucks and stuff,” he said. 

The cars will start showing up around 7 a.m. Huber said, and the show will run until 4 p.m. 

Of course, the annual parade is a go, starting at 10:30 a.m. — it's a real parade this year with floats, instead of a reverse parade, said Athabasca and District Chamber of Commerce president Tova Schwede. 

“We are asking the floats to line up at 9:30 a.m. at Cougar Fuels and to come in the far west entrance,” said Schwede. 

The entrance is on the north side of Highway 2, right across from 55th St. at the bulk station behind Tipton’s Your Independent Grocer. 

“We will accept people if they drive in, but we do actually have a waiver back in play this year,” she said. “On our website right at the very top is parade rules and guidelines which people can check out and there's also a waiver. We will have some of those printed for the day, but we do prefer that it's something that gets dealt with beforehand.” 

One of the parade rules is no throwing candy or treats, they must be handed out and then at the opposite end of the day, the Chamber is doing fireworks at 11 p.m. 

“We decided to set it in stone at 11 p.m. because we get that question every year,” said Schwede. "Typically, that is when it's dark enough anyway.” 

Before you get to the parade though, stop at the Athabasca Lion’s Club pancake breakfast at the Athabasca and District Senior’s Drop-in Centre for $10 a plate and in the afternoon when you need snack, the Athabasca United Church will be hosting its annual Strawberry Tea complete with strawberry shortcake. 

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