Out & About #249 | Canada Day Celebrations 2016

My original proposal was a pancake brunch, with strawberries and plenty of maple syrup to ring in Canada's 149th birthday.

But instead, we ended up heading over to Summit Garden for dimsum. And frankly, we weren't the only ones who had thought of this idea; even with a reservation, a fifteen minute wait was required for munching on the statutory holiday.

Cleanliness was nonexistent, and service was depressing. Being seated in a corner of the restaurant also meant that the content of the dimsum carts would be more or less cold by the time they neared our table.

Although Canadian pride was nowhere to be seen among our fellow yumcha-ers, a trip to Celebration Square altered that.

The official event commenced at 2:00 pm, and was in full swing by the time we managed to make our way around the several very annoying road closures and secure a parking spot in decently close proximity. Celebration Square was bustling with toy vendors, food trucks, entertainers, City services-related booths, and an incredulous number of participants.

After patiently listening through the opening speech at 4:00 pm, we set out to explore the premises, obtaining food along the way.

< Pictured above and below: Traditional Poutine (Snack Size) from Smoke's Poutinerie, Roasted Sweet Potato, and Cinnamon & Sugar BeaverTails Pastry >

Having confirmed that Chimney Stax was offering their classic baked cylindrical creations with soft serve ice cream at the Union Station summer market, I was itching to try one of the Instagram-worthy desserts for myself seeing that they were included in the food truck lineup.

While they were offering a special patriotic variation of the cone that was elaborately covered in red and white sprinkles, they were unfortunately not selling soft serve at this event. Sigh.

Instead of admitting defeat, I ventured over to I Love Churros after noticing their ad for Churro Cones. The $8 combo was pricier than necessary, though I was desperate to fill the void caused by the complete absence of Soft Serve Chimneys. 

A 12 oz. plastic cup was filled with a somewhat conical cone constructed of churro batter, then filled with Cookies 'n' Cream ice cream and topped with chocolate syrup and coconut shreds. Nothing too formidable, it was still an acceptable substitute for the time being, though I likely would not relinquish the same amount of hard-earned funds for partially melted ice cream in a cinnamon sugar-less, fried dough cone a second time.

The sun's rays began to scald the back of my neck as it neared dinnertime, so we set out for bubble tea and to munch on a more substantial meal prior to heading back to capture the fireworks display.
(Might I add that Chatime's Tea of the Month for July, Lemon Kumquat Green Tea, is quite refreshing and almost as tasty as CoCo's Passionfruit Black Tea.)

Once again setting out to central Mississauga launched us into an intense battle for parking amidst a tangle of serious congestion. After some twenty minutes and several hair-pulls later, I found street parking in a residential area and began the trek to Celebration Square.
A section of Burnhamthorpe had been closed for the evening, permitting the complete takeover of pedestrian traffic. We had somehow managed to secure a spot just after 10 pm, only to discover via Twitter that the City of Mississauga had cancelled the fireworks as the high winds posed a potential safety hazard.

It was a moment of sheer sorrow and unspeakable frustration.

However, the night took a positive turn after we made the impromptu decision to visit Playdium and test their newly-updated game equipment and hard ticket-free solution. The Canada Day Special included 225 credits in addition to a free bumper car ride, enabling us to exhaust the card's contents until closing time.

Few places remained open past 12 AM, but thankfully, we were able to make it to Sugar Marmalade just in time for post-DDR dessert. A Black Sesame Parfait was ordered; true to its numerous reviews over social media, the unexpected combination of black sesame and mango made for a deliciously creamy, yet tangy late-night snack.

Though the influx of fireworks photos and videos on my feed was painful to view, the day's adventures themselves were much more amusing than anticipated.

But one can only hope that the fireworks are rescheduled as soon as possible (even if road closures aren't guaranteed...)

Happy 149th Birthday, Canada!