{"id":100452,"date":"2017-07-06T15:54:55","date_gmt":"2017-07-06T06:54:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/?p=100452&lang=en"},"modified":"2018-05-29T13:50:38","modified_gmt":"2018-05-29T04:50:38","slug":"fukuoka-canada-day-report-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/fukuoka-canada-day-report-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"Fukuoka Canada Day Report 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"

Canada\u2019s 150th anniversary as a nation was celebrated in force and with style in Fukuoka! Blessed with fair skies, 1,030 people attended Fukuoka Now\u2019s Fukuoka Canada Day party at Tenjin Monolith<\/a> where local Canadians and Canada fans alike celebrated everything beautiful, charming and tasty about the land of the maple leaf!<\/p>\n

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As in previous years, the Canadian food was a real highlight of party. Guests enjoyed Canadian lobster claws, cheesy poutine, Canadian beef and pork, and BBQ salmon tortilla wraps. Maple syrup cupcakes, arranged into a giant red and white Canadian flag, were also available alongside ice cream with maple syrup, and tasty Nanaimo bars, which were snapped up quickly in their first appearance at the event.<\/p>\n

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For those thirsty for a refreshing Canadian drink, Molson Canadian beer, Canadian Club cocktails and a variety of Canadian-produced wines were flowing throughout the party. The outdoor patio space was the perfect place to enjoy the sun with a cold drink and relax with friends. The legendary Tim Hortons coffee was also a hot favorite and caught everyone\u2019s attention served in Fukuoka Canada Day cups made especially for the event. The ever-popular Canada Dry Ginger Ale was also heartily enjoyed during the hot afternoon, and starred again in the popular Fukuoka Canada Day ginger ale drinking competition. The winner, Robert from Texas, was rewarded with a bottle of maple syrup, naturally!<\/p>\n

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This year, as in previous years, we sincerely thank our generous food sponsors for the delicious Canadian fare on offer. This year Nitto Shoji<\/a> supplied the Canadian Lobster Claws, S Foods<\/a> brought the Canadian beef and pork, and Hirato Sangyo<\/a> supplied the maple syrup.<\/p>\n

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This was our first year to start the event in the afternoon, with doors opening at 3pm. It was a great atmosphere, and it was wonderful to see so many families attending. Over 50 children tucked into free maple cookies at the entrance, and then ran them off playing games of ball hockey upstairs. Snapping photos with our special guest Anne of Green Gables also stirred up a lot of excitement from the kids!<\/p>\n

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Making her first appearance at this year\u2019s party, co-host Anne entertained guests with quizzes about her various misadventures in the popular novel series by L.M Montgomery. She also enjoyed spending time chatting and taking photographs with international and Japanese book fans across the venue.<\/p>\n

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The best dressed competition this year featured impressive couple-coordinated outfits and some great hockey jerseys in a nod to Canada\u2019s favorite sport. Other attractions on stage included an energetic dance performance to some of the latest hits from Canadian pop artists, and an appearance by Fukuoka-based lacrosse team Ardito<\/a>, who impressed the crowd with their equipment and uniforms in an interview highlighting Canada\u2019s other national sport. Thomas Lyons, a hit with Fukuoka Canada Day crowds of years past, returned to delight guests with covers of a host of big Canadian names such as Bryan Adams and Neil Young.<\/p>\n

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Free Canada Day tattoos were available to all guests and a made-in-Canada Can-Am Spyder<\/a> three-wheeled motorcycle was parked in the entrance for photos. Alongside the snazzy Spyder were several booths selling Fukuoka Canada Day party merchandise and apparel from the Kitakyushu-based Canadian-goods store Bell Store<\/a>. A stall run by the Embassy of Canada<\/a> in Tokyo was also stocked with information for those interested in the studying in Canada.<\/p>\n

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Ms. Andrea Clements, Counselor (Investment) and Senior Commissioner (Energy and Natural Resources) at the Embassy of Canada, spoke briefly about the Study in Canada program on stage before doing the honors at the lucky draw for the trip to Vancouver.<\/p>\n

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Huge thanks to China Airlines<\/a> for providing this prize and for their sponsorship of the event. This year\u2019s winner was Shivani Mehta, an American citizen and resident of Fukuoka. She won a return flight from Fukuoka to Vancouver on China Airlines. As mentioned at the event, China Airlines offer an excellent service to Vancouver, with 17 flights per week to Taipei which boasts a very convenient connection time for the Vancouver-bound flight aboard one of the world\u2019s most modern aircraft, the Airbus A350-900.<\/p>\n

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The venue for the party, Tenjin Monolith, also provided the runner up lucky draw prize, a voucher for four persons to enjoy Tenjin Monolith\u2019s gorgeous \u201cBeer Garden\u201d! Ivan Blascak from Vancouver was the winner.<\/p>\n

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Many thanks for all our sponsors (China Airlines<\/a>, Embassy of Canada<\/a>, Nitto Shoji, Ltd.<\/a>, Hirata Sangyou<\/a>, Tenjin Monolith<\/a>, S Foods Inc.<\/a>), who helped make the 2017 Fukuoka Canada Day party one of our best yet!<\/p>\n

One hundred snapshots!<\/strong>
\nCheck out this gallery of photos from the event, maybe you or a friend appears? And if you didn\u2019t attend this year, see you next year!<\/p>\n

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