Decked head-to-toe in red and white, face paint and flag capes; it’s safe to say Canada Day is the one of the most highly anticipated days of the year for the Richmond youth.
While the rest of Steveston Village is full of families and tourists, look no further than “The Hill” for your daily dose of out-of-tune teens singing along to the national anthem.
In the past, “The Hill” by the water park was always the go-to hangout for youth to mix and mingle, but from the gradual growth of police intervention, the herd of high-schoolers was forced to migrate further and further away from the park.
And although the tennis courts were dubbed the “Youth Festival” area this year, the Richmond teens still opted for the unsupervised zone between “The Hill” and the tennis courts.
But why Steveston? After all, Downtown Vancouver is just a SkyTrain ride away. For recent McMath graduate Sam Huang, 17, the Steveston celebration has become tradition.
For her and other teens alike, the village is just a short walk away. Everything offered in the downtown core has become available here, just on a smaller, more intimate scale.
“(Downtown) is just so far and smelly and crowded,” explained Sam, “Steveston is home.”
Even for local college students, Steveston is still considered the best option. Whether they’re at The Buck or by “The Hill,” the freshly-legal, such as Noa Gortler, 19, celebrate their homeland by staying in their hometown. The oldest of three, Gortler and her two younger siblings, Ido, 18, and Adi, 11, could all be found in Steveston — just probably not together.
“I like Canada Day in Steveston because all ages can come together to celebrate Canada day; you know, from little babies to the older peoples,” said Gortler.
And when the sun starts to set, that’s not when the fun stops. Canada day is a full-day event and the local youth has developed sleep-deprived stamina. The teens head to their separate house parties, with some goodbye hugs, but hardly ever a formal farewell.
After all, they all know they’ll see each other soon enough; if it’s not that night, it will, for sure, be the Canada Day after.
