There will be no Canada Day celebration on Petrie Island this year. Instead, the event’s organizers have decided to hold a Canada Day children’s festival at Millennium Park, complete with kids’ entertainers, children’s activities and a giant birthday cake.

Kiwanis Eastern Ottawa made the decision to switch venues for several reasons. The main two reasons were logistics and cost. Holding a large event like the Canada Day celebration comes with a number of challenges, not the least of which is having to provide your own services including a generator for electricity, portable lighting and water hook up – all of which cost money Just the need to provide portable lighting for the causeway once the fireworks as over costs close to $1,500.

And as the costs of holding the event on Petrie Island have risen over the years, the job of raising the money to cover those costs has increasingly become more difficult.

Moving the event to Millennium Park allows the Kiwanis Club to focus on the main purpose of holding an event on Canada Day, which is providing activities for kids and families, while keeping things simple within a realistic budget.

“Our mandate is to do stuff for kids by creating youth-oriented programming and community activities,” says Kiwanis Eastern Ottawa spokesperson Adam Polka. “Here we still have an event that highlights that.”

The Ohhh Canada Kids Festival will include an obstacle course, face painting, a fishing pond, scavenger hunt, craft area, chalk art, fun games field activities and much more. There will also be a bike rally where kids can show off their decorated bikes. Best of all everything is free.

One thing they won’t have at Millennium Park is fireworks. The Kids Festival will be held in the afternoon only. People who want to enjoy fireworks on Canada Day will have to go elsewhere.

The Ohhh Canada Kids Festival will begin at 11 a.m. and wrap up by 5 p.m.

Besides everything already mentioned, there will be a magic show by Magical Marvin at 3 p.m., musical entertainment and a giant birthday cake which will be served up shortly after 1 p.m. Millennium Park also comes with a splash pad and kids play area which the Kiwanis Club was instrumental in getting built.

While the decision to move the event came after a lot of soul-searching, the response from the community has so far been largely positive.

“To be honest we’ve been pleasantly surprised (by the response),” says Polka. “A lot of people are happy with the fact that it’s easier to get to and that the focus is still on kids and young families.”

The Kids Festival aside, Petrie Island will still be open on Canada Day for anyone who wants to spend the day on the beach.

To find out more about the Kids Festival visit facebook.com/OCanadaOrleans.