Sarnia residents will be decked out in red and white on Wednesday as the city celebrates Canada's 159th birthday.
Canada Day celebrations kick off at 11 a.m. at Canatara Park.
Recreation Coordinator Rebecca Warren said some fan favourites are back this year including the multicultural food booths, the Handmade Vendor Market and a hula hoop fun zone.
"There is the opening ceremonies at 1 p.m., there's multicultural performances and Canada Day drumming at the bandshell," said Warren. "Then we having things like crafts with Judith & Norman Alix Art Gallery, tattoos, balloon clowns, we have top shot hockey, inflatables, face painting and an interactive doodle wall, lots of fun things like that."
The annual parade, featuring about 50 floats this year, kicks off at 11:30 a.m. from Colborne Road and Lakeshore Road.
To accommodate the parade, Lakeshore Road from Indian Road to Cathcart Boulevard, Lake Chipican Drive from Lakeshore Road to Sandy Lane, and Sandy Lane will be closed from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Festivities at Canatara Park continue until 4 p.m. and then the fun then moves to Centennial Park at 6 p.m. with nine food vendors and live music.
"We'll have buskers travelling through the event, we also have concerts at the Agora," said Warren. "At 6:15 it's The Infinite, 7:15 p.m. Rumble Fish and 10:15 p.m. Brothers Wilde, and that will lead us into the fireworks at 10 p.m."
Warren said temporary bike lanes will be installed in select locations as part of the city’s efforts to promote active transportation.
Bike lanes will be in place along Michigan Avenue from Indian Road to Blackwell Side Road from 7:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. and a bike corral will be managed by the Bluewater Trails Committee at Canatara Park.
Front Street will also be closed to traffic between London Road and Exmouth Street from 9 a.m. until after the fireworks, and will be used for temporary bike lanes.
Warren said Sarnia Transit will also be offering free shuttle services to both parks from Northgate Plaza.
Shuttles will run every half hour from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and from 1 to 4 p.m. to Canatara Park, and from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. to Centennial Park.
For the full schedule of Canada Day festivities, including road closures and shuttle services, visit the City of Sarnia's website.
In Petrolia, the all day celebration begins at 7 a.m. with the Kids Fishing Derby sponsored by the Lambton Central Petrolia Optimist Club. There's a downtown scavenger hunt at 9 a.m., the annual flag raising at the Royal Canadian Legion at 11 a.m.
Due to the heat, the “Field of Fun Days” event will now take place inside the gymnasium at the Petrolia YMCA from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Inflatable Race at Tank Street Heritage Field has been moved to 8 p.m. at Greenwood Park. The day wraps up with fireworks at Greenwood Park at 10 p.m.
Warwick Township has a party planned at Centennial Park in Watford from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. with inflatables, outdoor games, face painting and live music and food. There will also be fireworks at dusk at the Warwick Conservation Area.
There's a Canada Day Family Picnic from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Port Franks Community Centre. The free event also features family games, inflatables and face painting.
In Forest at the Else Dodge Conservation Area there's live music, food, a kids zone and fireworks. That kicks off at 5 p.m. and will run until 10 p.m.
In Brooke-Alvinston, the fun gets underway at 9 a.m. with the 26th Annual Canada Day Kids Ball Hockey Tournament.
There's live entertainment, a refreshment garden, a Cornhole Tournament at 2 p.m., food, and fireworks at dusk.
