Celebrate Oakville’s Canada Day virtually from the comfort of your home

This year, we’re bringing the party to you, eh! While COVID-19 might prevent us from gathering together in person, we can still celebrate this Canada Day connected as a community. The Town of Oakville is excited to bring you a full day of local entertainment and family-friendly Canada Day themed activities that you can enjoy from the comfort of home via the town’s Facebook page on July 1, 2020 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

“On behalf of Oakville Town Council, I’d like to extend my thanks to Oakville residents for doing your part to slow the spread of COVID-19. The town remains committed to protecting the health and safety of our staff and residents, which is why we continue to take necessary actions to support physical distancing, including celebrating Canada Day virtually,” said Mayor Rob Burton. “This year, our Canada Day celebrations will look different but connecting virtually will still allow us to share our love and patriotism for our country while experiencing the virtual activities and entertainment the town has planned for us.”

Presented in partnership with Canadian Heritage, Oakville’s Virtual Canada Day will feature music and performances by local artists, including Haley Marie, Intrada Brass, High Rendition Jazz, Oakville Chinese Network, as well as crowd-sourced content from the community. Selected content, including photos and videos, will be incorporated into our Canada Day celebration.

For our grand finale, residents are invited to sing O Canada from their backyard, driveway or balcony with the Oakville Suzuki Association, and then watch a virtual fireworks display at 9 p.m. by downloading the Snapd HUB app on their mobile device.

Leading up to Canada Day, Oakville residents are invited to take part in the following activities:

Residents are encouraged to decorate a rock with a meaningful message to share with the community. Residents are reminded to avoid removing rocks from the local habitat and to use environmentally-friendly paints. Once decorated, take a photo of your rock and send it to public.art@oakville.ca or tag @townofoakville with #OakvilleCanadaDayRocks. Then bring your painted rock to one of our drop-off locations listed below in Oakville’s Business Improvement Areas anytime between June 25 to 30 to be added to the Canada Day Inspirational Rock art installations curated by the community.

To help reach our 40 per cent canopy coverage goal, Oakville residents are also invited to plant a native tree on their property. To celebrate Canada’s 153rd birthday, we are giving away 153 trees. Residents can select from three species including Sugar Maple (Canada’s National tree), White Pine (Ontario’s tree) and Oak (popular tree in Oakville), while supplies last. If you don’t have space for a tree, we will have hundreds of plants and flowers available too.

Oakville residents are invited pick up trees and flowers, and safely drop their rocks off, at the following locations:

Special Canada Day giveaways will be offered during the tree, plant and flower pick-up times.

After dropping off your rock art or picking up your tree, please support our BIAs by shopping local.

Residents are reminded to follow proper health precautions, including the use of face coverings, use of hand sanitizer, and practicing physical distancing.

Please visit our Canada Day page for the full event schedule including performance times, contests and other fun activities. All performances will be posted to our Happy (Virtual) Canada Day Facebook Event page.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.