Happy Loyalist Day to everyone. My office sounds like it's under attack right now, since it is right across from Fort Howe and they are setting off the canons.
Maybe it's not really the Loyalist ceremonies. Maybe it's the mice. I'd better call in the Bear Battalion.
24 comments:
Bear Battilion to the Rescue!!!
Ya know, I'd forgotten about Loyalist Day, even though it was a big event when I was growing up and in school. Sad that the kids now adays don't get the gist of it and don't get to play dress-up!
It used to be HUGE when we were kids. It was a day off, remember? Back when our city actually had a social life, and people who didn't work or live uptown still went uptown?
And then in July, with Loyalist Days, where practically every business participated in sales and everyone dressed up and there were reenactments and celebrations galore.
Now it's nothing. We don't have money to spend on it. It's just sad that Loyalist Days are not what they used to be. Nor is Festival By The Sea.
We just don't have anything to attract people to our city anymore. I am hoping the waterfront revitalization and actually doing some development with the sugar refinery site will kickstart some positive change.
Better question is will we ever see that in our lifetime? The waterfront development is a must, but will it ever be done and will it be something other than industrial now that they've agreed to the LNG? (Not that I'm knocking it -it's jobs and money in the community again!)
Today is actually my wedding anniversary.
A certain long-time principal of a certain high school teased me, in his British accent, that I chose Loyalist Day to get married specifically *for* the 21-gun salute.
Guess what was going off as we exited Holy Trinity Church? ;)
Well, Happy Anniversary! How many years?
It would be very cool to have the cannons go off as you were exiting the church. Mare, that doesn't fit in with the Vegas plan, but give it some thought.
Mare? Vegas?! Don't tell me she's going to get there before me!!!!
Van!! This needs to be addressed and NOW!!!
No, no, no, I don't mean she has it in the works! She has just always said with her brother doing the church wedding thing, that leaves her free to do the Vegas thing.
Though I am now LMAO picturing you ordering Van around about the wedding! hehehehe!
No ordering needed - we have agreed to do Vegas in Feb. But, a post will be up regarding that shortly :)
whatchu talkin about willis? I'm goin to Vegas with Mare. Hello
Oh - shuddupayouface!!!
If we get married in Vegas I'm entering into the World Poker Tour. I suppose Terri and I don't really need to waste liz's blog to chat now do we?
No, but this is wayyyyy more entertaining than work!!!
Just waiting for Scott and/or Mare to show up and see all this, hahahaha!
you do realize that terri's sitting in the cubicle across from me when I "chat" with her right. Plus we waste the rest of the time e-mailing each other. It's just like working for Disney except no mice.
No mice works for Liz!!! ;-D
I've tried to have it explained to me a few times by people, but no one really seems to be able to do so...
Loyalists are the people who remained "loyal" to the British crown, and rejected the idea of self-government and democracy in the face of an overtaxing rich monarchy who denied them the full right to individual property ownership, right?
Why is this something to be proud of ?!? I can understand how it is important to learn, but I don't take pride in the fact my city's settlers had antiquated beliefs about government and taxation.
Point taken. I was less concerned with the exact heritage of Loyalists and more concerned with the fact that SJers don't seem to care about having any kind of celebrations of our heritage (even if this one was based on a bunch of people we really shouldn't be that proud about).
The slip in popularity I believe has less to do with the fact that the Loyalists had messed-up ideas and more to do with the ever-increasing apathy of SJ residents. Where did we get the money in the past to hold these types of celebrations, and why is it no longer around?
No doubt the city has money issues. A large geographic area combined with a small population makes it one of the least like-able places from a tax revenue perspective in Canada.
There may have been more stuff like Loyalist Days and Festival by the Sea a few years back, but lets not also forget that at that time the city was putting no money into facilities like Harbour Station and Imperial theatre. The operating budgets, and consequently the cities supplements to them, from those two venues alone is quite significant. If I had to choose between Loyalist Days or Imperial Theatre I'm quite certain which I'd pick, but to each there own.
Ideally, obviously, there would be money for both. I happen to think Saint John really isn't doing that bad of a job, overall, given the God-Given and Provincial/Federal government given hand it has--I think it's doing a pretty good job.
i just wanna' see the neato fireworks! or is that on the other Loyalist day?
True. Those two venues alone do suck up a lot of the budget. I too would rather have those venues than a week of celebrations in July. I just find it sad that it's not the same as it used to be.
So what are your thoughts on the drain of people to KV? I almost moved there, but in the end felt like a traitor to my city. If I want things to improve, and the city to have good roads and water, then I have to be a taxpayer in the city, not live outside it and complain about how bad it is, then drive 20 minutes home to my cheaper property taxes. May sound corny but I really did have a huge moral crisis when considering buying a house outside of the city.
Ok, who's posting as anonymous?
No fireworks tonight, that's in July. Don't they now combine the fireworks for Canada Day and the Loyalist Heritage Festival, as it is more recently called.
I'd have some pretty tough times moving to the valley myself, silly as it seems to me on one level.
I think the province should step in and combine Quispamsis, Rothesay, and Saint John--possibly even Hampton and Grand-Bay. It really only makes sense to me. Those residents share everything with the people of Saint John and they should be in the same tax brackets.(with breaks for those who don't have city services available to them)
It was done to Lancaster and they seem to have gotten over it... kind of.
re: Vegas, Van, see you in front of Elvis, I'll be the one in the feathers.
re: Loyalist Day costumes, well, that's where Chris and I first met and man, Scott and Sue and everyone else too (but specifically those two) have to see that picture. Chris looks just the same. He still wears a bonnet from time to time.
re: Loyalists in general, there is a misconception that they were rich landowners who updheld the antiquated tory taxation system. In fact, many Loyalists were not rich, were not landowners. These were people that had just survived a revolutionary war, and who had left the colonies with few possessions. That does not "rich assholes" make.... Necessarily... I do not pretend that these people did not have connections within the colonial government that may have eased their transition to the Canadas.
The fact is, to put it in modern terms, the Loyalists were refugees.
If we're going to continue to celebrate Loyalist Day, I think it's time we had an honest dialogue in this city as to who and what our actual heritage is.
As a half acadian, I also think we should celebrate Latour day. Not to mention Tintamarre on the 15th of August. And hell, why don't we celebrate the one thing we were actually named for - St. John the Baptist day. This is not the time to discuss Saint John's storied history with its Francophone population (now numbering over 27 and growing!) but it is interesting what history is privileged and what is not for a city that "prides" itself on its historical nature.
And Dan, yeah, the Imperial Theatre wins any day in my books too.
Personally I would be happy if Victoria Day was celebrated half as much out here on the east coast as it is in Ontario. At least that is something that the whole country knows about. While I would love to see Loyalist Days celebrated more - descendent of UEL's here - I would be quite fine if we at least celebrated the national holidays in a great way! Cripes in Ontario there was an entire weekend of fireworks and I'm not just talking the city sponsored... I'm talking every freaking house, etc. It was great especially since we had a fantastic vantage point to see the municipal fireworks of at least 15 different cities/towns! I think it's sad that we don't really even celebrate the big national holidays let alone the little local ones.
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