The eyes of Canada will literally be on the country's birthplace on July 1.
The one-hour live CBC broadcast that normally takes place on Parliament Hill in Ottawa every Canada Day is being transferred to Charlottetown this year.
Protesters are expected on Parliament Hill on June 26-27 to voice concerns over the G8 Summit which will be held in Alberta. That means CBC television crews won't have time to set up for the big show because, due to security concerns, the RCMP won't permit the public broadcaster to set up until after the protest.
Kim Green, executive director of the Capital Commission in Charlottetown is, to say the least, excited.
"We're getting calls from all over Canada right now which is great because that is exposure that you could not buy for this province and, at the start of our tourism season? Oh, my God! It's the best thing to ever happen,'' Green said.
"Sometimes I wake up and I think it's a dream.''
Green said it usually takes 10-14 days for CBC to set up.
"What that means is that they looked for an alternative location instead of cancelling Canada Day,'' Green said, tongue firmly planted in cheek.
"You can't do that so they went across the country and surveyed various festivals that were happening and Prince Edward Island had the next largest festival to that of Ottawa.''
CBC crews will begin setting up for the live broadcast on June 20 at the Festival of Lights grounds on the Charlottetown waterfront. The production goes from 9-11 p.m. on July 1 with the second hour (10-11 p.m.) being the live broadcast where the Charlottetown show will be piped across the nation.
"It's going to be a one-hour national live broadcast from the birthplace of Confederation and with it is coming a lot of the spectacular stage show that you see in Ottawa,'' said Green. "They are bringing in their own lighting directors from Toronto . . . (and) they're going to design a stage.''
The stage Green talks of is one with two, 20-foot wings. There will be two Jumbotrons at the site as well.
The change from the normal Festival of Lights event has forced the Capital Commission to change the festival setup adjacent to Peakes Quay. For starters, the parking lot at Confederation Landing Park won't be available to motorists.
"We've had to revamp the entire site which is a little bit of a headache because there's not a lot of parking anyway,'' Green said. "We're advising people to park uptown and walk downtown (or) shuttle in. We're looking at starting a shuttle service.''
Details were sketchy on Tuesday. Officials are trying to keep matters as close to the vest as possible until the official news conference, scheduled for Thursday at 11 a.m. at Peakes Quay.
Green said it was her understanding on Tuesday that the show would include a 30-piece drumming band from around the world, the Ennis Sisters and Canadian singer-songwriter Murray McLauchlan, as well as incorporating the Confederation Players (Fathers of Confederation) and Founders Hall into the mix.
Revamping the site isn't the only revamping going on. The $25,000 fireworks display, which normally lights up the sky beginning at 10 p.m. on Canada Day, has been pushed back to 11 p.m. to coincide with the national broadcast.
Charlottetown city council in the past has set a curfew of 10 p.m. for everything to be wrapped up but they are making an exception in this case.
"Council had met with the Capital Commission after the opportunity for national television coverage came about and basically, what council agreed to because of that national coverage, to allow the one-hour extension for the one night only on July 1,'' said Clifford Lee, deputy mayor and councillor who represents the area.
"It is understood by all that it is a one-shot deal and the only reason we're doing it is because of the national television exposure. It is the only reason we're even entertaining this request. Without that one-hour extension we wouldn't have been able to get the national coverage here in Charlottetown.''
Lee said the city's chief of police was at the meeting with the Capital Commission and has promised a greater police presence in the downtown area.
"They are committed to providing even more police protection and police presence than originally planned for the activities for July 1,'' Lee said.
"I fully expect the police to be able to control the unwanted activities on the waterfront. It is (also) my intention to meet with some of the area residents privately with the chief of police to explain to them what the plan is for Canada Day weekend in Charlottetown.''
The remaining concern, and one which nobody has an answer for now, is where to put all the extra people heading for the waterfront because of the bigger show.
Lee said it just goes to prove the show belongs somewhere else.
"In my opinion the waterfront is not the (best) location for the Canada Day fireworks. It never has been, it's just too small an area. Victoria Park is a fantastic location. There's a lot more space for people.''
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