Flash, boom, bursts of white, red, and green. Victoria Day fireworks in the Dundas Driving Park. Since 2009, this longstanding Dundas tradition has been supported by the City of Hamilton presented by the Rotary Club of Dundas Valley Sunrise and recently sponsored by the Canadian Tire Corporation.
This year the event continues, albeit virtually. ”We wanted the community to have something to celebrate even if it was not in person,” says Alexis Wenzowski of the DVSRC. She brought the idea to the club as a way to not only keep the fireworks ‘alive’ but also to give back to the community and especially to honour all the frontline workers in the COVID-19 pandemic. ”A little bit of joy for everyone to brighten these days of routine and confinement and for some life-endangering work,” she said.
The club quickly pivoted from the real to virtual and lead by Ross Bannatyne, it pulled together past photos and videos of the event courtesy of Paul Iacoviello and Victory Fireworks and created
a new video with the help of Justin Monaco-Barnes of Thrillhouse Studios which will air on Cable 14 Sunday night May 17 the original date set for this year’s fireworks.
Over the last ten years, the event has grown to include a Kids Fest with buskers, face-painting, and glow sticks and, a Music Fest including local bands featuring James Alphonse and Steve Parton. Families arrive early and picnic or purchase food from a variety of food trucks as they await the grand finale of fireworks. With volunteers from the Dundas Civitan club, Routes Youth Centre and surrounding Rotary clubs the Rotary Club of Dundas Valley Sunrise has maintained a Dundas tradition.
In 1845 May 24 was declared a national celebration by order of Parliament to honour Queen Victoria’s birthday. It has remained on Canada’s national holiday calendar ever since although in 1952 the holiday has been placed on the first Monday before May 25.
There have been picnics, parades, and fireworks in Dundas for well over 100 years. Kevin Puddister of the Dundas Museum and Archives remembers the cannons from the armouries being moved to Albert Street and then set off to signal respect for the monarch and Art Samson recalls that he and his wife, Agnes, took their children to the Driving Park over fifty years ago. “Simple pleasure is the way that we celebrate life here in our Valley Town,” says Russ Powers, the former councilor who was among the people who kept the fireworks alive in Dundas after amalgamation with the City of Hamilton.
The Rotary Club of Dundas Valley Sunrise has used proceeds from previous fireworks to support local and international charities such as the Good Shepherd, Neighbour to Neighbour, and End Polio Now.
The club plans to host a ‘live’ event in the future. Thanksgiving weekend 2020 has been set as a tentative date and so has Victoria Day weekend 2021. For more information contact Ross Bannatyne 905 628-4439 or go online to our website www.dsvrc.ca.
