BROCK’S BANTER: Thistle be the start of something big

July 8, 2015 · 0 Comments

By Brock Weir

Each year, I am consistently amazed by the amount of events there are to be enjoyed in Aurora during the Canada Day festivities.
This year, however, a curious phenomenon happened. Although it was a relatively easy going day as far as covering said events was concerned, by the time fireworks rolled around by 10 p.m. the events of the morning – the parade down Yonge Street, the cake cutting at Lambert Willson Park, the endless lineup to get a free stack of pancakes whipped up by the Optimists – seemed like they happened three or four days before.
Year in and year out, I am fascinated by the sheer number of families who come out to these events, whether they are lining the route, getting their “passports” stamped at various stations around the park, or even parents introducing their young’uns to the glories of Fleetwood Mac, as packaged and delivered by the delightful Fleetwood Nicks tribute artists.
Invariably, a large proportion of the people I have the chance to meet at such events are coming out for the first time, finally dipping their toes into the festive pond after years of sitting on the fence, or families new to Canada keen on instilling into their kids a sense of pride of being a part of the Canadian family.
This Canada Day, I decided to try something new.
Throughout my decade-or-so in Aurora, I typically watch the evening fireworks in one of two locations. Back in the day, before the trees in my neighbourhood hit a particular growth spurt, we were able to watch the pyrotechnic display from the foot of our street, which just happens to point in the direction of the Aurora Family Leisure Complex.
These trees had better ideas, however, and since that convenient location became impassable, focus then shifted closer to the action at Lambert Willson. After spending most of my day there last Wednesday, it was time for a change, and this year we decided to take in the view from Optimist Park, which overlooks the whole scene.
For all those naysayers who insist a sense of community exists only on the west side of the railroad tracks, take a trip to Optimist Park next July 1 and then get back to me. In a nutshell, Optimist Park was, quite simply, where it was at. Not only was there an incredible panoramic view of the entire Canada Day show (minus the entertainment on the main stage), it was made extra scenic by its proximity to some of the wilder environs of the Aurora Community Arboretum, and brilliantly illuminated by an energetic soccer battle being waged by some of the girls of the Aurora Youth Soccer Club.
The bright lights illuminating the soccer pitch behind Northern Lights Public School had the added benefit of drawing mosquitos away from the crowds waiting for the show to get on the road, all the while allowing for those of sporting minds to have a bit of entertainment before fireworks illuminated the night sky. Call me sentimental, but there was something captivating about seeing the game come to a halt as soon as the first firecracker went up as the players paused to take in the scene, only to continue their joust as fast and furious as before once they were done – perhaps buoyed by a renewed patriotic fervour.
Personally, since I was stationed behind a bank of prickly purple flowers, my main objective of capturing the vegetation lit up by the fire crackers just so I could use the caption “Thistle be the start of something big” just wasn’t in the cards.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO…?
But, in a matter of speaking, it is the start of something big. With Canada Day 2015 now in the history books, there is less than two years left before Canada marks its 150th anniversary. Despite the best efforts of our Federal politicians, the excitement of the momentous anniversary, quickly getting larger on the horizon, doesn’t seem to have quite caught the imagination of the general public.
To talk to people who were there at the time – raise your hand! – it seems the lead-up to Canada’s Centennial in 1967 was an affair that got our nation’s collective creative juices flowing fairly early on. Perhaps there was a sense at the time that Canada was still an emerging nation and the 1967 Bash was something of a Coming-of-Age party, but there were no shortage of ideas on how such an event could be commemorated.
There is evidence of this here in Aurora and you don’t have to look too far to find it. The Aurora Community Centre, for instance, was a Centennial project still enjoyed by Aurorans nearly 50 years after the fact, although what it commemorates might be lost on today’s generation.
When you look at Aurora’s own Centennial just four years earlier, that project left a lasting legacy in the form of the old home of the Aurora Public Library on Victoria Street.
At the last Council meeting before the summer recess, Councillor Thom questioned whether there had, as yet, been any action in setting up a committee to help steer Aurora’s own way of marking the Canada 150 anniversary. So far, the answer to that question seems to be a big, fat ‘no’ – at least pending a report due before Council this summer or early fall.
Fittingly, this discussion took place in a meeting that was in no small part dedicated to hashing out the future of Library Square, in which Aurora’s centennial gift to itself, features as the predominant cornerstone of the land in question.
After an endless series of public consultations, the general consensus among Aurorans seems to be that this building has long outlived its usefulness and the land is ripe for a change.
Over 50 years on, perhaps it is time for Aurora to train its eyes on this stretch of Victoria to replace the two outdated, outmoded and underfunded facilities with a new, modern community asset – addressing community needs as well as parking issues – that will be able to inspire the next three generations of Aurorans. Replacing one birthday present with another, incorporating the markers and stones incorporated in the old Library into the new structure would be a fitting tribute to the National Sesquicentennial.