For the second straight year, there will be no Canada Day celebration at Nelson’s Lakeside Park.
The Nelson and District Chamber of Commerce announced Wednesday it won’t hold the annual July 1 party due to ongoing COVID-19 gathering restrictions.
“This year, we encourage you to celebrate Canada Day at home with smaller family gatherings at Lakeside Park, Gyro, Taghum Beach, or Kokanee Creek Provincial Park,” the chamber said in a statement.
“Organize small backyard get-togethers with family and friends, or support local restaurants within the region.”
Nelson won’t be the only city without fireworks on the nation’s 154th birthday, and not just because of the ongoing pandemic.
The City of Victoria previously scrapped its Canada Day celebration broadcast as an act of reconciliation during the mourning for the 215 Indigenous children found dead at the Kamloops Indian Residential School.
Penticton has also called off Canada Day for the year following the discovery in Kamloops.