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Sidney Days are among key events returning this summer

Sidney Days last took place in 2019
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The Canada Day Parade in 2019 as part of Sidney Days. (Black Press Media file photo)

Sidney Days are returning to Canada Day festivities for the first time since 2019 but one prominent event won’t.

Mayor Cliff McNeil-Smith welcomed the return of Sidney Days but also put it in a larger context.

“The return of Sidney Days after a two-year hiatus shows our community is emerging from the pandemic in a very positive way,” he said. “Given the tragedy unfolding in Ukraine, I know the community will want to gather, as we have done for generations on Canada Day, to celebrate the freedoms we cherish and may sometimes take for granted.”

Sidney Days open on June 30 with live music starting at 7:30 p.m. at Beacon Park, followed by fireworks scheduled for 10:15 p.m.

Sidney Lions will host a pancake breakfast at 8 a.m. on July 1 at the Mary Winspear Centre. The Canada Day Parade presented by Peninsula Celebrations Society down Beacon Avenue will get underway at 11:30 a.m. followed by a Family Fun Fair featuring Valdy from 12:30 to 4 p.m. in downtown Sidney. The event will also mark the return of the Slegg Build-A-Boat that sees teams construct a water vessel and attempt to stay afloat while racing to claim victory.

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Not returning this Sidney this summer are the Bed Races, an historically popular fundraiser by the Saanich Peninsula Hospital and Healthcare Foundation.

The event, which sees squads of four people push a bed piloted by a team member down Beacon Avenue for one full block in the fastest time with two teams competing at a time, was originally scheduled for Aug. 28 with Sidney council having signed off on it earlier this month. But organizers late this week announced its cancellation.

wolfgang.depner@peninsulanewsreview.com