OTTAWA, June 21, 2004 -- The Government of Canada invites Canadians to take part in activities organized across the country as part of Celebrate Canada! 2004.This program, implemented by the Department of Canadian Heritage, allows the entire population to express its pride and sense of belonging in Canada, as well as to discover and appreciate the richness of Canadian culture and heritage. In each province and territory, a volunteer Celebrate Canada Committee has been established to promote Canadian values and to encourage the organization of activities.Celebrate Canada! activities take place from June 21 to July 1 across the country. They begin with National Aboriginal Day, on June 21, which is an opportunity for Canadians to discover the unique accomplishments of Aboriginal people and their contributions to Canadian society. Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, on June 24, highlights the culture and heritage of Francophones from all regions of Canada and allows Francophone communities to express their pride. Canadian Multiculturalism Day, on June 27, celebrates the richness of Canada's diversity and acknowledges the tremendous contribution of the more than 200 ethnocultural communities in Canada. Finally, Canada Day, on July 1, is a special time of celebration and sharing, during which all Canadians can join together and express their pride in living in Canada.This year, Celebrate Canada! celebrates 400 years of French inhabitants in North America and the 400th anniversary of the founding of Acadia. It also commemorates the meeting of Aboriginal peoples and the first explorers, who helped shape our history and lay the foundations of modern Canadian society.The July 1 noon-time show on Parliament Hill, organized by the Department of Canadian Heritage, will pay tribute to Acadia. A group of artists will take us on a trip through time and space and re-visit important moments in the the history of Acadia and Canada.For more information on Celebrate Canada! or to communicate with provincial or territorial Celebrate Canada Committees, please visit the Canadian Heritage Web site at www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/canada.Information:Catherine GagnaireMedia Relations OfficerDepartment of Canadian Heritage(819) 934-1786 BACKGROUNDER CELEBRATE CANADA! CANADA DAY, JULY 1 NOON SHOW - PARLIAMENT HILL Canada will celebrate its 137th birthday in grand style in the nation's capital. Every year, tens of thousands of people flock to Parliament Hill to take part in the noon-time show with the Governor General, the Prime Minister, and the Minister of Canadian Heritage.This year, the theme of the Canada Day noon-time show is the 400th anniversary of Acadia. The Acadian culture will be highlighted, along with the contributions of Aboriginal people and the first explorers, who helped shape our history and lay the foundations of modern Canadian society.The celebrations will begin with an air show featuring the Snowbirds. Then actor Yves Turbide, portraying a playwright inspired by Marc Lescarbot, accompanied by violinist Marc-André Gauthier and a number of other invited artists, will take us on a trip through time and space, reviewing the history of Acadia and Canada. The show will begin and end on a powerful note thanks to the orchestra, choir, dancers, and actors who will make the connection between the French colonists' arrival in 1604 on Saint Croix Island, a small island near what is today the Maine-New Brunswick border, and modern-day Acadia, in 2004.Innovative and original, the production is lively and energetic, and inspires joy and hope. The show will be projected on four giant screens, and will also be broadcast live across the country, on CBC and Radio-Canada, beginning at 12 noon (EST).We will be escorted on our noon-time journey by Yves Turbide (actor), Marc-André Gauthier (violinist), Karina Gauvin (soprano), Gino Quilico (baritone), the music group Blou , the Nathan quartet, singers Florant Vollant and Molly Johnson, as well as Chantal Kreviasuk, and Wilfred LeBouthillier
