Cochrane and Area Events Society is getting ready to celebrate Canada's 152nd birthday with the community of Cochrane.

In two weeks from now, Mitford Park will be abuzz with tons of musical entertainment, dancing, food and beverage options, and activities for all ages to partake in.

Event Coordinator, Kailey Leonzio, says there are lots of new additions to this year's line up as Cochrane and Area Events Society (CAES) brings another great year of all-day entertainment to the community of Cochrane. "We have a really good roster of entertainment. This year we have three different stages; the main stage, a smaller stage in front of the main stage, and we will be using the pergola stage over by the ponds at the park. We have tons of family entertainment and activities planned, a rugby game, a marketplace featuring lots of clubs and organizations that will be showcasing what they do, over ten food trucks, and beer gardens run by Half Hitch again this year."

Planning the all-day celebration takes many months shares Leonzio, and the group strives to keep the event fresh and exciting each year. With Canada Day celebrations at Mitford Park attracting anywhere from 5,000 to 6,000 people throughout the day, the event has now become one of Cochrane's larger scale festivals. "We try to change it up with a different theme, so this year we went with a cultural theme incorporating different aspects of Canada's culture as well as within our own local community which is why we have different organizations coming out. I think it is important to definitely look ahead and continuously aim to change it up to keep things fresh."

New additions also include Stoney Nakoda singers, a dunk tank, a human whack a mole game, and a new line up of musicians and bands. "We are working with Bonnie from the Venue and she helped coordinate all the bands and put them in order. The School of Rock from Regina is going to be in Calgary that weekend, so we'll have both the School of Rock from Calgary and Regina performing at the start of the day, and I think that will be really fun. Daring Greatly is fantastic, the Nova Scotiables play more east coast music which ties in that cultural vibe, and Jason Cote plays quite a bit in town with Rolling Thunder. We wanted to change it up; there will be a few familiar names of people that play at the Venue and other locations in town, but then we've got a couple of newer ones that maybe people haven't heard of and now they will have that opportunity."

Even though Canada Day falls on a Monday this year, Leonzio, is hopeful a number of people stick around town and partake in our local festival. While festivities kick off at noon at Mitford Park, the day begins much earlier than that with a pancake breakfast and the raising of the Canadian flag at Cochrane's Royal Canadian Legion. "Even if people do happen to go away for the weekend, most will be coming back on Monday because chances are they will have to go back to work the next day. Hopefully, even if they don't come until later in the day they still have an opportunity to take part in the activities and see the bands. We built up the schedule so that as the day goes on the entertainment is longer and the bands play longer. So even if people don't make it out for the whole day, they come out at some point to grab a bite and check out all the stuff we have going on."

Canada Day is a FREE community event, however, donations will be gladly accepted to support the new build and refurbishment of the playground at the Girl Guides Camp Jubilee, says Leonzio. "For CAES, while we love to plan and put on these big events for the town, we also like to give back to the community as much as we can. That is why we reached out to the Girl Guides; monies from the gate as well as any funds collected from the dunk tank will go towards that. The Girl Guides will also be on site at the event that day helping out as volunteers, they'll have a tent, and I am pretty sure they're bringing out cookies to sell as well, which is another perk."

Capping off the day at 11 p.m a beautiful fireworks display will light up the Cochrane skyline.

While Canada Day is just one of many great Cochrane festivals, Leonzio shares it is our time to come together to celebrate community, culture, Cochrane and Canada. 

With limited parking available a free shuttle service will be operating throughout the day with pick up locations at Bow Valley High School, Fireside Traffic Circle, Hwy 1A and 2nd Ave (Old Town Hall Site), Towne Square Plaza (former Canadian Tire Site), St.Timothy High School, Bow Valley Baptist Church, and Mountain Ridge Plaza in Heritage Hills. Residents are also encouraged to walk or ride their bike as an option too. 

Lastly, volunteers are still needed on the day of to help facilitate festivities successfully. If you can lend a helping hand, go HERE. 

A schedule of events is listed below:

Activities:

  • A Showcase of Clubs 12- 4 p.m.
  • Pony Rides/Petting Zoo 12- 4 p.m.
  • Rugby Game Grizzlies vs Apostles (British Army) 12- 1:30 p.m.
  • Games, bouncers, face painting, etc. 12- 7 p.m. available throughout the day (times vary)

Main Stage Entertainment:

  • SCHOOL OF ROCK Regina & Calgary 12- 1:30 p.m. 
  • POSTSCRIPT (French Band) 1:45-  2:15 p.m.
  • O’Canada French/ O’Canada English Summer Hull (Rotary Youth Talent Festival winner) 2:15 - 2:25 p.m.
  • Mayor Jeff Genung, MP Blake Richards and MLA Peter Guthrie speeches
  • SMOKING ACES 2:30- 3:45 p.m.
  • Eurhythmics Dance Studio 3:55- 4:15 p.m.
  • NOVA SCOTIABLES 4:15 - 5:30 p.m.
  • Stoney Nakoda Dancers 5:30- 5:50 p.m.
  • THE JR KAQUITTS BAND 6- 7:15 p.m.
  • Snap Dance Studios 7:15- 7:35 p.m.
  • JASON COTE & ROLLING THUNDER 7:45- 9:00 p.m.
  • DARING GREATLY 9:25- 10:45 p.m.
  • FIREWORKS 11 p.m.

Pergola Stage:

  • Magic Show 3:15- 3:30 p.m.
  • Stoney Nakoda 3:45- 4:05 p.m.
  • Magic Show 4:20- 4:35 p.m.
  • Stoney Nakoda 4:45- 5:05 p.m.
  • Magic Show 5:20- 5:35 p.m.
  • Magic Show 6- 6:15 p.m.