Canada Day in Barrhaven could come to an end after four decades

There’s always been a feeling of community at Canada Day in Barrhaven.

Neighbours scoot their lawn chairs next to each other in front of the main stage, catching up between performances and waving to familiar faces they haven’t seen in months. From the midway come the screams of excitement as rides twist and turn overhead. The smell of hamburgers, hot dogs, cotton candy and food from around the world hangs in the summer air.

Then, as night falls over Clarke Fields, thousands of people look toward the sky and wait for the fireworks.

It’s a tradition that’s been ongoing in the suburb on the southern side of Ottawa for 44 years. But this year — unknowingly to most — it might have happened for the final time. 

Canada Day Barrhaven Inc. announced in a statement last week it will not organize a celebration in 2027, and none of its current executive directors or committee members will return to lead the event.

Darrell Bartraw, president of Canada Day Barrhaven Inc, was still emotional when he met with the Lookout at Clarke Fields on Saturday. Around him, volunteers were dismantling what remained of the festival. Fencing came down. Porta-potties were loaded onto trailers.

“It’s a terrible loss for the community if the event doesn’t come back next year,” said Bartraw. “This is a huge event. It’s the biggest event that we have in the community. Over the years, there have been over 30,000 people that attend our event.”

Canada Day celebrations in Barrhaven began with modest fireworks displays near the Walter Baker Centre, Greenbank and Jockvale roads, before later moving to Foxfield Park. In 1980, the Barrhaven Lions Club took over the festivities, hosting a community celebration in the Barrhaven Mall parking lot, complete with a flag parade, the national anthem, and a birthday cake.

Under former councillor Jan Harder, the festival expanded and eventually moved to Clarke Fields. New attractions were added over the years, including a multi-day midway, multicultural performances, a seniors breakfast, children’s programming, food vendors and an evening concert capped off by fireworks.

But expanding meant more time and work. And after a few security incidents at previous events, new fencing, security screening and bag checks became part of the event following incidents in 2019. That brought a further logistical hurdle and more costs. 

Bartraw, who has led the festival for the past 16 years, said the event is now largely carried by a core team of just six volunteers, many of whom are seniors. 

“I took this event over 16 years ago, and John Schman, our vice-president, has been with me pretty much all those years,” Bartraw said. “Since then, we’ve had our main crew grow to about six people only, and a lot of them are in their 70s, and our bones are starting to hurt. Everything’s hard.”

It’s not as easy as fencing going up, he said. Each detail has to be carefully planned out months in advance. 

“You’ve got to decide where the entrances are going to be, where the emergency exits are going to be. You have to take into account fire routes, paramedics and first aid. It just goes on and on,” he said. 

With hundreds of vendors, performers, contractors, emergency services, sponsors and volunteers to coordinate, Bartraw estimates it now costs more than $150,000 to stage the celebration each year.

Even before Canada Day arrived, organizers knew this year would bring its challenges. 

Two and a half months before the country’s birthday bash, the midway provider unexpectedly pulled out, leaving organizers with $18,000. They blamed uncertainty surrounding U.S. tariffs and fuel costs, which made their trip to Ottawa from western Ontario unviable. 

Bartraw said he considered cancelling this year’s event before Bingoland South offered fundraising shifts to help recover the lost revenue.

On Wednesday, Canada Day began much the same as any year. The gates opened in the morning, and seniors gathered under scorching heat for an annual free breakfast.  Even Nepean MP Mark Carney — who also happens to be Canada’s Prime Minister — stopped by to flip pancakes and meet with families.

Hours later, the skies opened. Roughly 118 millimetres of rain fell over Barrhaven in just four hours, washing out much of the afternoon and evening festivities. The main stage performances were cut short and, for the first time in the event’s history, the fireworks never lit up the sky.

Kanata’s Canada Day fireworks also fell victim to the weather, postponed several times before finally being set off on Saturday. Barrhaven had hoped to do the same but ultimately cancelled the display in order to recover part of its investment.

“The rain certainly didn’t help us,” Bartraw said. “Some of the things that we do on Canada Day itself is sell 50/50 tickets. Last year, our prize was just over $6,000. This year, it’s going to be just over $2,000.”

The group also lost revenue from attractions, including the mechanical bull and rodeo slide.

“We’re going to meet our numbers this year, but we’ve had to rely on not putting off our fireworks and getting back a percentage of the money of the $15,000 that we paid for the fireworks,” Bartraw said. “You don’t get it all back because they were here, they set up, and there are restocking fees and everything. So we need that money in order to cover the costs, and we’re just barely making it with those numbers.”

Looking back, Bartraw said he’ll remember the people more than the challenges.

“The biggest highlight of the event every year is when we do our main stage act at nighttime, and you see people of all ages… enjoying the celebration of our country, Canada,” he said. “We just love to see stuff like that. And that is our highlight.”

Canada Day Barrhaven Inc. is encouraging anyone interested in reviving the celebration to begin organizing as soon as possible. A new non-profit would need to be established before September in order to apply for Canadian Heritage funding when applications open this fall.

The current organization plans to remain active in the community and says it is willing to share everything it has learned over the past four decades.

Although Bartraw is stepping away from Canada Day, he isn’t stepping away from helping his community.

For several years, he has had a vision for a youth drop-in centre in the community. Through programming based out of the Charlie Conacher Building, he has already organized youth basketball in the summer, skating at the outdoor rink in the winter, and other activities aimed at giving young people a safe place to gather.

 “Life goes on,” Bartraw said. “There are lots of other things to do in this great community. Our next project, without letting the cat out of the bag, we’re going to be working on a youth drop-in centre. That’s where I’m going to be putting my time now.”