Young patriots celebrate Canada Day during a previous Bath Canada Day parade. Organizers continue to plan for 2020, though they are unsure what it will look like. Photo by Adam Prudhomme.
April 20, 2020
Desiree DeCoste Beaver Staff
The longstanding and much anticipated feature of the Bath Canada Day celebrations is the button design contest.
Now in its 46th year, and not wanting to break tradition, the Bath Canada Day Committee (BCDC), who organizes the July 1 civic celebrations, is changing the format of the Canada Day Button Design Contest due to this challenging year with the global COVID-19 pandemic.
“To the best of our knowledge, there is no other community in the country that’s had an unbroken tradition of a unique button designed annually by children to celebrate Canada Day,” expressed Diane Nolting, chair for the 2020 BCDC. “Given the current situation, we felt it was important to keep this tradition going. We think today’s youngsters will remember the pandemic of 2020 as a significant event that required many changes to daily life and tested our resolve and compassion.”
Originally the buttons were professionally designed and after a few years, organizers of the festivities felt this approach would be a good way to get children more involved and provide an opportunity to reflect on what makes Canada Day special.
Having been preparing for the 2020 celebrations since early last fall, the BCDC has all the background work already in place.
“The health and well-being of vendors, volunteers and visitors is our primary concern. Whether we proceed will be based on the guidance of federal, provincial and municipal bodies,” Nolting stated. “Canada Day will still happen even if the festivities are cancelled. People will find ways to celebrate while respecting social distancing, and we’ll have some ideas to share about virtual celebrations when the time comes.”
The contest is open to elementary aged children in the Loyalist Township and runs till May 1.
Each design needs to have Bath and 2020 in it, but other than that it is entirely up to the designer what’s depicted on the button.
Normally children in elementary schools would receive an entry form at their school and return it to the office for pick up. This isn’t possible now, but entry forms are still available via email.
Judged for many years by the Bath Artisans, they see only the designs and not the child’s age or school affiliation.
The top prize for the winning designer is $50 and three runner up awards of $25 each.
All the designs will be posted to the Bath Canada Day website and the winning design will be transferred to a large wooden circle and displayed in Centennial Park.
“Normally, the design is turned into pins by PeoplePowerPress in Napanee and made available to the public in return for a donation to kids activities,” said Nolting “Not quite sure how we will do it this year. We’ll likely do a limited run.”
A gallery of past designs can be found at the BCDC website at bathcanadaday.com (click on Canada Day 2020 and click “Buttons” on the drop down menu).
To get a copy of the entry form and for more information please email bathcanadaday@live.ca
If you know families who don’t have access to a computer or a printer, please ask if you can print out a copy for them.
“It is our hope this will be an opportunity to talk about why we celebrate Canada Day each year, what it means to be Canadian and how collectively, we can work to support our community,” Nolting expressed. “We look forward to receiving the designs.”
Young patriots celebrate Canada Day during a previous Bath Canada Day parade. Organizers continue to plan for 2020, though they are unsure what it will look like. Photo by Adam Prudhomme.