More than 100 Navy League of Canada cadets will be arriving in Prince Albert from across the province to celebrate a major milestone.
The Navy League of Canada Saskatchewan Division will celebrate its 75th Anniversary the weekend of Sept. 30 and Prince Albert will be the host community.
Rose Mineau, the Navy League of Canada, Saskatchewan Division 75th anniversary co-chair, said that they are excited to host the anniversary as planning has been underway for many months.
“The kids are going to get to know each other and they’re going to make something called the divisional Flag, which represents that group of kids for the weekend,” Mineau explained.
“We are bringing cadets from across the province to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Navy cadets in Canada. Prince Albert is the host because we were the first Corps to be established in the province,” she added.
The anniversary celebration runs from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1 with events throughout the three days. On Sept. 29, the cadets will arrive and be broken up into groups and have a chance to get to know each other.
The events really get underway on Sept 30 with a Nautical Olympics at Kinsmen Park beginning at 9 a.m. The flags will be incorporated into the Nautical Olympics.
“A Nautical Olympics is going to showcase some of the Navy League themes and some of the things that they learned,” Mineau said.
The cadets will be doing four timed challenges: boat building, nautical trivia, knot relay and a human knot which is a team-building activity.
“They’re going to compete in their groups and they’re going to have a chance to win gold, silver, bronze medal. And they’re going to be presented those at the supper that we’re having (on Saturday evening),” she explained.
“We would kind of like the public to kind of come and check things out.”
Following the Olympics, they will have lunch at the Park. They’ve made alternative plans in case of bad weather.
Following lunch the cadets will return to the Armory and change into their dress uniforms. At 3 p.m., they will then march from the Court of King’s Bench down Central Avenue to Memorial Square for a Naval Ceremony.
Mineau said they partnered with the Friendship Centre because their anniversary celebration coincides with Truth and Reconciliation Day on Sept. 30.
“We wanted to incorporate them in our event and we didn’t want to take away from their event,” she said.
“It’s important and that’s why we are incorporating it so heavily.”
The Indian and Métis Friendship Centre will be doing a smudge and incorporating drummers into the parade.
Saturday will conclude with a Banquet at the Prince Albert Exhibition Centre. There will be a refreshment hour at 5 p.m. and supper at 6 p.m. The banquet will feature a speech by Greg Amy about the history of the Navy League. Cadets will be wearing orange shirts for their dance that concludes the evening. This event is not open to the public.
They will be concluding with an alumni pancake breakfast on Sunday from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. where current Navy League cadets can visit with past members.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
