On May 2, hundreds gathered at Montebello Park to celebrate St. Catharines, Ont., reaching its 150th anniversary as a city.
“Our history goes back a lot longer than that, but 150 years ago was when we became a city,” said Mayor Mat Siscoe. “This has been an opportunity for our community to remember all the good stuff about living in St. Catharines.”
This January, the city revealed its anniversary theme, Our Common Ground, featuring a logo where every shade of blue represents the different communities, neighborhoods, and industries in St. Catharines.
“If you look back at the original maps and photos of community, it was a patchwork – squares and rectangles – of agricultural plots,” Siscoe told CBC Niagara when the city first unveiled the logo in January.
WATCH | St. Catharines mayor shares mystery about the city as his fun fact:
Locals share 7 fun facts you might not know about St. Catharines, Ont.
On May 2, St. Catharines celebrated its milestone birthday at Montebello Park with a thousand cupcakes and free hot dogs while sharing trivia about the city.
“I think [the logo] represents.. Merritton, Port Dalhousie, Grantham and St. Catharines, [communities] that came together to make the modern city, but it also represents the people that were here,” said Siscoe.
“You can go sit with the Armenian community and be surrounded by a bunch of Poles and Eritreans because those are the communities that make up the city,” said Siscoe. He also mentioned Ukrainians, Italians and Germans who settled in town during its early days.
St. Catharines officially became a city on May 1, 1876 but “the land beneath our feet has been one constant that has endured – well before St. Catharines attained city status,” according to a statement from earlier this year. “It bore the footsteps of the first Indigenous peoples, offered shelter to freedom seekers on the Underground Railroad, and gave rise to the waterways, vineyards, orchards, and gardens that nourish us today,” they added.
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The City of St. Catharines set up inflatable games and city firetrucks as part of its Touch-a-Truck at Montebello Park. (Diona Macalinga/CBC)
Marie Mouradikian from Bridges Niagara highlighted how this event is a wonderful reminder of all newcomers from over 120 countries who have found home in St. Catharines through their organization.
“It’s a great space and a new home to so many newcomers,” said Mouradikian while expressing gratitude for ongoing support from funding for events like Niagara Folk Arts Festival which is Canada’s longest-running cultural festival.
The crowd enjoyed free hot dogs served in lines stretching across Montebello Park along with cupcakes; over half were arranged into a giant birthday cake shape.
The mayor led everyone in singing happy birthday alongside other councillors and NDP MPP Jennie Stevens.
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St. Catharines Mayor Mat Siscoe, NDP MPP Jennie Stevens and city councillors standing behind 500 cupcakes used to make a birthday cake for the city’s 150th anniversary. (Diona Macalinga/CBC)
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Locals share 7 fun facts you might not know about St. Catharines, Ont.
On May 2, St. Catharines celebrated its milestone birthday at Montebello Park with a thousand cupcakes and free hot dogs while sharing trivia about the city.
“I think [the logo] represents.. Merritton, Port Dalhousie, Grantham and St. Catharines, [communities] that came together to make the modern city, but it also represents the people that were here,” said Siscoe.
“You can go sit with the Armenian community and be surrounded by a bunch of Poles and Eritreans because those are the communities that make up the city,” said Siscoe. He also mentioned Ukrainians, Italians and Germans who settled in town during its early days.
St. Catharines officially became a city on May 1, 1876 but “the land beneath our feet has been one constant that has endured – well before St. Catharines attained city status,” according to a statement from earlier this year. “It bore the footsteps of the first Indigenous peoples, offered shelter to freedom seekers on the Underground Railroad, and gave rise to the waterways, vineyards, orchards, and gardens that nourish us today,” they added.
A sing-along to mark the date
This Saturday’s celebration featured inflatable games along with tents set up by local sports teams and community groups like Friends of the Carousel and Niagara Ice Dogs for visitors at Montebello Park.Another celebration to come
This July 1st will see another celebration where St. Catharines marks its milestone alongside Canada Day-capping off festivities with their first-ever drone show followed by fireworks at Port Dalhousie’s Rennie Park.Source link
