2017 saw Burnaby celebrate its 125th birthday and Canada’s 150th.
The city held year-long festivities to mark the occasion, ones that touched all corners of Burnaby.
But how much did everything cost, and how many folks actually showed up?
According to Dave Ellenwood, the city’s director of parks, recreation and cultural services, the total bill came to $274,800, about $7,000 under budget.
Part of that was covered by a $75,900 grant given to the city by the Ministry of Canadian Heritage, states a staff report, a grant that had to be matched by the city. City council approved $205,000 from its gaming fund (money the city receives from Grand Villa Casino) be used.
“It was fantastic,” Ellenwood said of all the birthday events, which attracted more than 90,000 people. “People were really engaged.”
The fun included a three-day celebration in September that saw drop-in fees at the city’s rec centres rolled back to $1.25. More than 13,000 people took part and another 5,000 people participated in events at eight community centres, featuring local performances, interactive displays from city departments and family-friendly activities.
“People took advantage of the drop-in deal, really appreciative of it and really celebrated. They had fun, and that’s effectively what we wanted to do,” he said.
Like years past, thousands of Burnaby citizens stopped by the Burnaby Village Museum for Canada Day. It was one of three official Canada Day events in the city; the others were family-friendly activities held at Edmonds Park and a free concert, headlined by Canadian singer Steven Page, and a fireworks show at Swangard Stadium. In all, over 30,000 people took in the three events.
The most popular Canada Day shindig was at the village, added Ellenwood.
“It never ceases to amaze me how people will get excited about a cupcake with a Canadian flag in it. I think it’s a proxy for how good they feel about being Canadian.”
The birthday bash also saw the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts put a call out for musicians, artists and heritage performers. There were 92 performances with more than 400 local performers who entertained throughout the year, according to the report.
The city also brought the Celebration Burnaby Activation Tent to 18 local community events throughout the summer, including golf festivals and Environment Week. More than 130,000 residents and visitors joined in Burnaby-themed arts, crafts and other activities.
The community was able to look back at the city’s history through an exhibit called Then and Now, hosted at the Burnaby Village Museum.
To commemorate the birthdays, the city (with support from local non-profits and the federal government) has several infrastructure projects underway. They include renovations at the Bob Prittie Metrotown library branch, tree plantings in Central Park, a new outdoor fitness circuit at Burnaby Fraser Foreshore Park and the new Willingdon Liner Park, set to open this summer.
Staff also got creative and installed 13 owl eco-sculptures in Central Park, with each one representing one of Canada’s provinces and territories.
Throughout 2017, the city invited people to post pictures on Instagram with the hashtag #celebrateburnaby. More than 2,000 images were submitted, according to the report.
To get the word out about all of the birthday events, staff implemented a marketing and communications plan, which included outdoor street banners, online videos, e-newsletters, on-site signage and a dedicated page on the city’s website. That page had over 19,000 views; on social media, there were more than 1,000 tweets, 400 Facebook posts and 300 Instagram images.
Meanwhile, more than 80 volunteers helped put on the festivities, dedicating some 525 hours of their time.
What’s the takeaway from the year-long celebration, according to Ellenwood?
“It sounds stupid to say, but people really enjoy celebrating, so I think maybe we should probably do more of it,” he said.
