Ciara Henderson can’t wait for Pitt Meadows Day.
Not only does she enjoy seeing her good friends, but this year she will also be crowned Miss Pitt Meadows.
The Grade 6 student at Pitt Meadows elementary found out three weeks ago when her mother got the call after dinner.
She was surprised and excited, and has already written her speech for the opening ceremonies, starting at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Ciara admits that she is good at public speaking.
Last year, she had to write an oral report every two weeks for school.
However, she is still nervous about giving the speech, although her mother has tried to ease her fears about getting on stage.
“Mom did say that usually it’s only the adults and families who listen to it,” Ciara said.
She loves living in Pitt Meadows because, although it’s a small community, it has everything one needs.
“You know a lot of people in it and you’ve got stores and everything from a city,” she said.
Ciara is a member of the Girl Guides and enjoys camping and learning new skills, such as “setting up tents and making food from canned stuff.”
She also enjoys doing musical theatre, martial arts, biking and reading in her room.
As part of the Royal Pary, Ciara will take part in the parade on Pitt Meadows Day.
This year marks the 76th anniversary of the celebration, with activities all day.
Pitt Meadows Day starts out with a Pancake Breakfast hosted by the local Lions club from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. at Heritage Hall.
The Pitt Meadows Day parade begin at 11 a.m. and start at Hammond Road, turning north along Harris Road to McMyn Road.
Roads will close at 10:30 a.m. and reopen at 1 p.m.
This year the public are being asked to paint tiles for a Pitt Meadows mural to mark Canada’s 150th anniversary.
The official opening ceremonies will take place at 1 p.m. on the main stage in Harris Road Park. The Royal Party ascend the stage led by bagpiper Sandy Marshall.
From 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. there will be all sorts of free activities at Harris Road Park including rock wall climbing, birdhouse building, face painting, bouncy castles, yoga and fitness, and a blood pressure clinic.
The 4-H Rabbit Club will be bringing bunnies to the park to show the community what goes on in the club.
Martial arts demonstrations will be held and there will be music, games and sports.
Crafters will have their work on display from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. that will include hand-knitted toys and clothes, handmade soaps, charms, jewellery, accessories, gifts and clothing.
From 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Hoffman and Son Garage will have blacksmiths giving demonstrations and engines on display. There will also be a Penny Necklace craft to make using the forge and drill press.
The Pitt Meadows Museum will have two new exhibits called Darkroom; Pitt Polder and Canadians with Impact: Our Choices on display.
The Youth Lounge will be open from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Pitt Meadows Family Recreation Center for drop in billiards and table tennis.
At 2 p.m. there will be a skateboard competition with DJ and MC Hippie Mike.
Main stage entertainment will go until 6 p.m. and include The Checkerboard Guy, The Giggle Dam Show, Tristan Underwood Kite Flying, the Samuel Robertson Technical Rock Band and The Fiddlers.
Between 5 p.m. and 7 pm. the Pitt Meadows Firefighters Association will be holding their annual salmon and chicken barbecue dinner at Heritage Hall, for $10 per plate.
A free family dance will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on the top floor of Heritage Hall.
At p.m., Pitt Meadows firefighters will have a display of fireworks at Pitt Meadows Athletic Park.