Skip to content

Dapp’s 100th wrapped into July 1 celebrations

Canada’s 150th birthday isn’t the only milestone that the residents of Dapp are celebrating this year. The hamlet is enjoying its 100th birthday and organizers are focused on making it an event to remember. The celebrations begin July 1 at 8 a.m.
Canada Day in Dapp will not only celebrate Canada’s 150th, but also the community’s 100th.
Canada Day in Dapp will not only celebrate Canada’s 150th, but also the community’s 100th.

Canada’s 150th birthday isn’t the only milestone that the residents of Dapp are celebrating this year. The hamlet is enjoying its 100th birthday and organizers are focused on making it an event to remember.

The celebrations begin July 1 at 8 a.m. with a pancake breakfast at the Dapp Community Hall, followed by three tours of the Pembina North Community School at 9:30 a.m., 10 a.m., and 10:30 a.m.

The annual parade will begin at 11 a.m. and Dolores English, the lead organizer of the festivities, is still looking for parade entries for the under 6, 6-10, and all ages “super-hero float” categories.

English is encouraging people with antique cars to join in the parade to “celebrate the families of Dapp over the years,” she said. She can be reached at 780-307-8544 for those interested in joining the parade, though she stresses that it’s OK to just show up.

“I’m always surprised at how many people come out to the parade,” she said, expressing that this year was going to be the biggest one yet.

Once the parade finishes, speeches and acknowledgements from representatives of the community will be made in front of the community hall, which will lead into a lunch filled with hotdogs, ice cream, and birthday cake provided and prepared by the Dapp Community Council.

The afternoon will have carnival games for the kids, local entertainment, and a chance to view antique cars in a community show and shine at the parking lot of the old hotel.

English expressed her hope that the combined celebrations would be big enough to draw many of Dapp’s former residents back for the 100th anniversary, a hope shared by resident Ed Wolff, who has been working on reuniting his Grade 9 class from Canada’s 1967 centennial year.

“The class wasn’t big, maybe 18 to 20 people, but it’s going to be a pretty good turn out,” he said. “So far we have 13 confirmed and three are still a maybe.”

Wolff decided that since some of his former classmates might not make it another 50 years a big party would be the perfect time to get everyone together.

However, this wasn’t something that he did alone. With a little help he was able to track down his former classmates, and one is even coming from as far away as Vancouver Island.

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks