Celebration Canada is to return to Hakka Cultural Park in Taipei on July 1 after years of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, Canadian representatives said on Thursday.
This year’s event is special, as Canada Day falls on a Saturday, allowing people to more easily celebrate with Canadians, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan told a news conference in Taipei.
Taiwanese and members of the international community can join Canadians for the national day festivities, with food and drink, live music and activities for kids, Canadian Chamber of Commerce chairman Brandon Thompson said, adding that admission is free.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The outdoor party would have poutine — French fries with gravy and cheese curds — maple syrup snacks and other Canadian food, along with Moosehead beer and international food items, Thompson said.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has abated, there would be a return to the full program of activities, including sharing a Canada birthday cake, live music, a raffle, mini-hockey, a poutine eating contest, and face painting and other children’s activities, including a bouncy castle, he said.
Air Canada is providing two economy-class tickets to Canada and vouchers for hotel accommodation as the top prizes in the raffle, as well as Canadian-made shirts and other items of clothing, he said.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is the event’s main organizer, with sponsors including Air Canada, EVA Airways, Northland Power, Bank of Montreal, Moosehead Beer, TCS Experimental Education, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office and others, Thompson said.
Canadian Trade Office in Taipei Trade and Investment Director Ed Jager said he looks forward to a large crowd at the event enjoying the party and the booths, while learning about the important relationship between Taiwan and Canada, which share many commercial links.
Trade and business links are expected to increase this year as the global economy recovers from the pandemic, boosting tourism and air travel between Taiwan and Canada, so it is likely that the number of Canadian tourists to Taiwan would rise, while young people might be drawn to visit Taiwan on school exchanges, or to teach English or find other work, Jager said.
Air Canada is working to restore direct flights between Taiwan and major Canadian cities and airline officials are making adjustments as demand for flights changes, Holiday Tours sales manager Jennifer Shi said, speaking on behalf of Air Canada.
For the summer travel season, Air Canada hopes that bookings would return to 90 percent of what they were before the pandemic, Shi said.
Before direct flights are restored, people traveling on Air Canada routes can check in their baggage at the international airports in Taoyuan or Kaohsiung and collect them in Canada after a stopover in Japan, South Korea or Hong Kong, she said.
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