St. Clair College students celebrate Canada’s birthday with 150 minutes of Art, Music, and Food

AS Canada turns 150 years old, the government, private citizens and many others are hosting a variety of events to celebrate the country’s sesquicentennial birthday year.

Locally, public relations students from St. Clair College hosted 150 Minutes of Art, Music and Food.

What started as an assignment for students led to the event at the Heimat Centre on Drouillard Road April 6.

Local vendors and artisans from Windsor gathered to sell their art, beavertails, hot dogs and other goodies.

Janeen Kratochvil, who studies public relations at the college, said she felt honoured to organize the event.

“It’s special because I get to work with my peers. This is our final event that commemorates our graduation,” said Kratochvil. “This is the first time we got to work together as a group completely as a whole and it’s so exciting to work with people who are motivated.”

Live bands performed all evening and the students held raffle draws.

Kratochvil said their aim was to celebrate Canada’s birthday and to instill a sense of community.

“It brings the community together. It’s everything that public relations is and it’s a reflection of our values,” said Kratochvil.

Mikaela Morin, who is also a public relations student, was excited to put what she learned into practice and to support not just the program but the community as well.

“Being here has been a roller coaster of emotion, just watching all of our hard work come together and create this great event,” said Morin. “We have learned a lot and it means a lot to take everything that we have learned to put a real event on.”

According to professor Shelley Divnich Haggert, the students raised approximately $600 to $800. The proceeds were donated to the Veteran’s Memorial Project Windsor.

“We want to convey the message of inclusivity. Canada is everything to everyone in terms of our ethnicity, our Canadian armed forces and the civil liberties that we experience here,” said Kratochvil. “This is why we welcome our newcomers. This is what we strive to protect. This is everything that the love and freedom of our country is built upon.”

Blaine Lavigne, a local art vendor, said the event was fantastic.

“I feel good contributing to Canada’s 150th birthday in some way. It’s great to see the community brought together,” said Lavigne.

Children and students were eager to get face paint with Canadian themes.

Many rushed into the Canadian-themed photo booth with a mask of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and ‘Canada Eh’ speech bubbles. There was also a banner for people to express their favorite memories about Canada.