Donald Teuma-Castelletti
MANSFIELD July 1, 2017
One part of the Pontiac kicked off their Canada Day celebrations a little early, but kept the good times rolling all through the evening and the following day.
Mansfield hosted a baseball tournament at Parc Amyotte, featuring a small opening ceremony and parade, live music, local vendors and other fun activities.
Starting off the opening of the weekend, a procession across the baseball field honoured a variety of local heroes and politicians. Red and white balloons anchored to the ground led the honourees to the pitcher’s mound of the baseball diamond, where everyone lined up in two rows.
Leading the pack was RCMP Const. Meaghan Doyle, carrying the
Canada 150 flag while in full uniform, Councillor Gilles Dionne and Fire Chief Darcy Belair. Behind them followed the volunteer firefighters, who were welcomed with cheers and clapping from the gathered crowd.
Local veterans also marched, as well as two current soldiers, Major Marc-André Blais and Corp. Thierry Kamanzi. Following towards the end were members of the Knights of Columbus and Pontiac MP Will Amos.
The opening ceremony featured speeches by Amos and Roger Fleury, with the latter highlighting the history of the Indigenous people and importance of natural resources to the area. The national anthem was sung, preceding a traditional Indigenous drum performance by Fleury, Trevor Pearce, Denis Dupont and Sebastien Beaudoin.
“Canada would not exist if the Aboriginal people had not defended it,” said Fleury, explaining the significance of their performance.
The baseball tournament kicked off the rest of the evening, while karaoke singers took to the stage, rounding out the rest of the Friday night party.
The next morning, the baseball tournament wasted no time in getting back to business, pausing only for the singing of the national anthem. The morning had a bit of a slow start due to the previous evening’s rain, as the wooden stage had to be dried off before the Corriveau School of Dance could perform safely.
The rest of the celebrations featured a smorgasborg of fun, from children’s activities at the Maison des Jeunes, to live performances by local artists Beyond Driven and Last Blast from the Past, and the crowd-pleasing antics of strongman competitions and dunk tanks.
The dunk tank was especially popular. For a few bucks people lined up to dunk councillors Gilles Dionne, Claudette Béland and Mayor Kathleen Bélec.
And when the tension grew too much for some to bare, you could bet on someone showing up to give the target a good push and the lucky contender a refreshing dunking.
At the end of the day, hundreds from the area and beyond came out to play some baseball, enjoy the music and celebrate their country.
For some, being back home and honoured by their community was all they needed to celebrate the big day.
“I felt honoured to be asked to carry the flag,” said Const. Doyle.
