The little town of Bothwell has some big plans to celebrate two major milestones on Canada Day.
It's celebrating Canada's 150th anniversary and its own 150th at the same time.
To do that, organizers have planned out a full day of activities starting bright and early at 8am Saturday.
Co-organizer Marion Matt says they've been planning Saturday's celebration for about five years and their budget is in the range of $60,000-$70,000.
"Over the timeframe we have been doing raffles, bingo, and special shows like women's symposiums and there was a golf tournament," says Matt. "All of those things along with the grants that I got build all the things that you need to put something like this together."
There will be live entertainment throughout the day including music and chainsaw carving demonstrations, a car show, inflatables for the kids, and street hockey mini tournaments.
The town will also feature a dog show, the Bothwell Boosters & Firemen Dinner -- which requires advance notice by calling 519-695-2096 or 519-878-1330 -- and of course, fireworks at night.
With everything they have planned, organizers in Bothwell are confident they'll be able to compete with some of the celebrationst that are going on at larger urban centres.
"I told the committee when we started that if we wanted to have a big show, we needed to put on a program that would draw people -- I think we've done that," says Matt.
You can find the full schedule of events for Bothwell's Canada Day celebrations by clicking here.
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Other Celebrations In East Kent
Aside from Bothwell's big bash, there are also a pair of other celebrations taking place in the area east of Chatham this weekend.
Thamesville already celebrated Canada's 150th at its Threshing Festival, but Clearville and Highgate have some activities planned.
There will be fireworks at Clearview Park at 18498 Clearville Rd. starting at dusk on July 1.
There will also be Canada 150th celebrations at the Highgate Ball Park hosted by the Highgate District Agricultural Society starting at 5pm on Saturday.
Admission is $15 for adults and $5 for kids aged 6-12 -- children five and under are free.
