Niagara-on-the-Lake’s annual Canada Day cake parade rolled into Simcoe Park on Wednesday behind an electric-converted Model T, drawing hundreds of residents, clad in red and white, for a slice of the town’s signature cake.
The parade, a tradition dating back about 25 years, followed the cake down Queen Street and into the park, where the town crier delivered a civic welcome and Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa called out “Who wants some cake!”
The turnout held strong under an Environment and Climate Change Canada “orange alert” for extreme heat, though head baker Catharine O’Donnell said it fell short of last year.
The old cars engine overheated and stalled as it entered the park, and its brakes nearly failed as in went down the hill into the bandshell’s amphitheatre, requiring several attendants to push the car to slow it down. But the cake arrived intact.
O’Donnell’s design for the cake design grew out of her work with the Niagara College, area wineries and gardens, built around a message about eating naturally.
“How do we eat from the ground again, how do we not use preservatives,” she said. “If you were to make a cake for Canada, what would you put on it?”
Environment and Climate Change Canada issued the orange alert for extreme temperatures across the region over several days, and Niagara Region Public Health urged residents on Wednesday to limit strenuous outdoor activity, drink plenty of water and check on older adults and neighbours without air conditioning during the holiday.
A small car show sat on the grass nearby, with a handful of vintage Chevys and Pontiacs, alongside a barbecue and cold drinks.
