How to organize your Celebrate Canada! activity

  1. START EARLY: Before you know it, summer will be just around the corner, so start planning your Celebrate Canada activity now. You may want to join with other organizations or individuals to form an organizing committee or you may prefer to keep things informal by holding your own neighbourhood meetings. When choosing your committee members, try to keep a balance between creative individuals, people with practical organizational and promotional skills, and individual representatives from your community.

  2. GET TOGETHER FOR A BRAINSTORMING SESSION: Beyond flag-raising ceremonies, parades and gatherings with your neighbourhood, there are numerous other ideas you might want to consider in planning your celebrations. Here are just a few examples: adopt a grandmother or grandfather from a local senior citizens residence and involve them in your activities; plan a block party and decorate your street; arrange a track-and-field day at a local park or school yard and use Canadian flags as prizes; send a greeting card to the local police station, fire hall, hospital and Royal Canadian Legion thanking them for their past and ongoing contribution to the community; encourage your municipal government to hold a civic event or the planting of a tree in honour of Canada; encourage people to volunteer, to get engaged in your community and, if possible, to make a donation in order to help people in need; ask your library to develop a special display on Canadian writers and promote Canadian literary works; ask your local newspaper to print a full-size image of the Canadian flag for readers to display them in their windows.

  3. GET SUPPORT FOR YOUR ACTIVITY: Money, services, volunteer assistance: you need all these forms of support. Your activity cannot be successful without community involvement. A successful fund-raising drive requires good organization. Involve the businesses in your community by inviting them to donate in-kind services, particularly in the area of liability insurance, which is an absolute necessity. Look for volunteers of all ages. Encourage people to participate by reminding them that the Celebrate Canada activity is their event. (Please refer to Community Involvement and Private Sector Support, see page 4 of the Funding Application Form)

  4. DEVELOP A REALISTIC BUDGET: A simple, well-organized event is always preferable to a lavish celebration that you are not able to afford. Keep within your means and everyone will be able to enjoy themselves.

  5. ACCESSIBILITY: Ensure that your activities are fully accessible to all people, including those with disabilities.

  6. PLAN A DETAILED SCHEDULE AND DELEGATE: In any major undertaking, nothing is more nerve-racking than a series of last-minute problems. Try to prevent such problems by assigning to each committee member a different task along with a deadline. Ensure that all involved know clearly what is expected of them. If you take the trouble to do this in the beginning, it will save you a great deal of confusion in the end.

  7. BE ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS: Try to use biodegradable and recycled products wherever possible. Have your members and participants sort their garbage into appropriate recycling bins. These bins can be colourfully decorated for the occasion.

  8. PUBLICIZE YOUR ACTIVITY: Media coverage and other forms of advertising are necessary for any event. However, advertising can be expensive, so watch your budget! An effective way to handle this is to involve local media right from the beginning in promoting your activities as a public service. Have people in your community put up posters, deliver flyers and spread the news by word of mouth. Ask local businesses, hotels and restaurants to lend a hand. To ensure consistent messaging of Celebrate Canada activities in all provinces and territories, it is strongly recommended that you use official Canadian Heritage promotional items and material.

  9. REMEMBER THAT: You must acknowledge financial support from the Department of Canadian Heritage in all promotional materials in a manner consistent with the guidelines found at the following address www.pch.gc.ca/support.

  10. CONTACT US: For assistance, contact your Canadian Heritage Regional Office.

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