ATWOOD, ONT. -- Like all communities across the nation, this is going to be a different Canada Day.
In the tiny Perth County town of Atwood, they’re not taking the holiday for granted, by turning to “granite”.
“We painted between 400-500 rocks all white, with a red edge, and then we delivered them to every house in Atwood. We said to Atwood residents, paint your rock, bring it back, and it kind of went from there,” says Leasa Skinner, Atwood Rocks co-organizer.
Skinner and her daughter started painting “inspirational” rocks for their community back in April.
When the Atwood Lions caught wind of their project, they enlisted their help to reinvent their Canada Day festivities.
“Cause of COVID, you can’t really do much. Normally, we’d have a parade and stuff. I wanted to something nice for the community and this was one of the ways I thought we could do that,” says Trinity Skinner, Atwood Rocks co-organizer.
“You're not alone. This is still something fun you can do for Canada Day. We’ve also got sidewalk chalk to decorate your house, we’ve got a house decorating contest. Lots of stuff through the Atwood Lions Club,” says Atwood resident, Kim Buchanan.
Most of the rocks have come back to the Skinners and are now displayed on their lawn, for the community to enjoy.
“We’ll put them on display. They’ll be here for Canada Day for people to take a look. So far it been great. People coming by on their bikes, having a look, and carrying on. It’s been neat,” says Skinner.
Plenty of other communities are reinventing their Canada Day celebrations as well.
In nearby Listowel, they’re hosting a week’s worth of patriotic games and activities.
Instead of fireworks in Wingham, residents are encouraged to sing O Canada from their doorsteps at dusk on July 1.
In Grand Bend, the community is hosting a drive-in concert and movie at the Starlite drive-in.
And in Kincardine, there will be an online concert, magic show, and even online fireworks.
