How to celebrate Canada Day in Ottawa: Capital Of Canada

Jul. 1, 2012 by Matt van Vuuren

Raving at the Escapade Festival and watching the fireworks during Canada Day in the capital was a unique experience especially it being my first Canada Day as a foreigner.

Canada Day is a statutory holiday in Canada and is always celebrated on July 1st.

I decided to celebrate Canada Day long weekend in the capital of Canada: Ottawa. It was a long delayed 6 hour drive due to a truck losing its cargo on the 401. The heat was unbarable during the traffic jam.

Some fun events to do during Canada Day are: Fireworks Celebrations, Day Cruises and when you have enough time go wildwater rafting or bungee jumping which are both in close proximity.

Prior to Canada Day I noticed it was impossible to book a reasonably priced hotel room for the week thus I ended up in a Bed & Breakfast (my first) which was a fresh breeze. I met some great people at the breakfast table were we shared our stories from the day before.

On the first day I had VIP access to the Escapade Festival at the Canadian Stadium thanks to BeforeLastCall.com. The second day I went to the bungee jump upon return to Ottawa I ran into my neighbors which are all students and invited me over to join them for the Canada Day celebrations.

Fireworks at the Parliament Hill were definitely a highlight but unfortunately it was way too overcrowded.

Also, I watched the finale of the 2012 UEFA EuroCup at an Italian restaurant and you can all guess how that was felt around me. Italy was destroyed by Spain which ended a bad Eurocup for the Netherlands.