Day 252: Canada Day Celebrations

The weather was unpredictable. We weren't sure if we should head somewhere indoors or outdoors. Our friends were heading to Canada Day at Canada Place in the afternoon. We drove by Burnaby Village Museum and the sign said it was free admission on Canada Day. We decided to head to Burnaby Village Museum first then meet our friends down at Canada Place.

I have never been to Burnaby Village Museum before. I was really excited to go because I have always wanted to go. We got there at 10:45 am. We thought heading there a bit early was a good idea to avoid the lineup. A bunch of people thought the same thing and there was a huge line up. It was neat inside. There were lots of activities for kids. There were a few houses that were built in the late 1800's that we got to tour. The houses were decorated with the furniture and items from that era. There was a car from the early 1900's that we got to sit in. There was a street with stores. There was a bank, post office, Chinese medicine shop, automotive store, music store, hat store and general store. There were people dressed in costume to welcome us into the stores. It was a neat place to learn about Burnaby's history. After an hour at the museum, we rested for a bit then headed downtown.

We got to downtown about 3ish. I didn't want to drive downtown. We parked by 41st and Cambie and took the Canada Line downtown. We got to Canada Place and it was packed with people. There were a few stages with performers. We managed to catch one show. It was a dance performance with various dance groups. The highlight of the show were winners from So You Think You Can Dance Canada Season 2, Tara Jean, Vincent and Jayme Rae. The Vancouver Convention Center (the new convention center) was open to visitors. We walked around there after the dance show. It is nice and modern. We met up with our friends at the Vancouver Trade and Convention Center (the old convention center). Inside there were exhibits from the Port of Vancouver and the Canadian Armed Forces. The middle hall was a performance stage. At the Canadian Armed Forces exhibit, we got to hold some guns they use. After a few hours of walking around, we decided to rest our feet and have some dinner. We wanted to see the parade thru downtown. We strategized to eat somewhere close to the parade route. We went to Elephant and Castle on Burrard and Hastings St. After dinner of pub grub, we walked about two blocks to watch the parade. We caught about half of it. There were many groups / organizations in the parade. The Canucks van, Fin and Mini Fin were also in the parade. Mini Fin is so adorable. Since we were in downtown we decided to walk along Robson St then head home. Of course on Robson St is Bubble World. We got a honeydew slush bubble tea with pearls and coconut jelly. On route back to the Canada Line on Granville St, there was a busker. Her specialty was hula hoops. The grand finale had her with six hula hoops; two on her body and two on each arm. It was very impressive. We gave her some of our change. After a long day of walking around and enjoying the Canada Day festivities, it was time to go home and rest.