If you headed to New Westminster’s waterfront in search of fireworks on Canada Day, you weren’t alone.
Many residents headed to Westminster Quay and Pier Park on Friday night expecting to see a Canada Day fireworks display light up the night skies. Fireworks were an annual feature of New Westminster’s Canada Day celebrations prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and the discovery of 215 unmarked graves at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in May 2021.
Sheila Sharma, executive director of the Hyack Festival Association, said many folks must have googled fireworks, and found an old ad from 2019 on the internet and assumed it was for this year. She said the City of New Westminster wanted its Canada Day events to focus around reflection as a country and felt that a celebratory show, such as a fireworks display, would be out of place for the atmosphere it was hoping to achieve.
But fireworks fans are in luck, as Hyack is planning to end the summer of 2022 with a bang.
Sharma said a Farewell to Summer Fireworks Festival is being organized for Saturday, Aug. 27.
“We thought it would be a nice way to wrap up the summer festivities, and have partnered with River Market and the Paddlewheeler Pub to have a fantastic event on that day,” she said in an email to the Record. “There will be market vendors and entertainment, capped off with a breathtaking fireworks display. The particulars are all being worked on as we speak.”
Stay tuned for more details on the Farewell to Summer Fireworks Festival.
