Come Celebrate Queen Victoria's Birthday Celebrations - May 16 to 18

Birthday cake and lemonade, hand-pumped fire engine trials, military drills and musters, patriotic speeches, singing and the celebratory firing of rifles will all mark Queen Victoria’s Birthday during Upper Canada Village’s opening weekend.

At Upper Canada Village, the upcoming holiday weekend marks more than its opening day on May 16. From Saturday to Monday, May 16 to 18, visitors are invited to take a trip back in time and join in the Village’s Queen Victoria’s Birthday Celebrations, an event that was widely recognized as an important national holiday in the 1860s. Signs of a 19th century celebration will be evident as soon as visitors pass through the gates of the Village during this annual outdoor event, with flags and colourful bunting adorning many of the heritage buildings on site.

A number of historical activities scheduled for the weekend will bring to life the same community excitement that would have been felt in Upper Canada in the year 1866. The true tribute to the Queen will be when villagers and visitors to the site join in singing “God Save the Queen”, hear patriotic recitations, and offer three cheers to “Her Majesty”. As part of this ceremony, there will also be a special visual portrait, called a “tableau” put together by children from the Village. On Sunday, a Feu-de-Joie (a successive firing of rifles) by special guests the Brockville Infantry Company will complete the ceremony. Children and adults alike will be thrilled to help with the Fire Engine Trials. The “Queen”, an original state-of-the-art engine, will be hand-pulled by the Fire Company and a stream of water shot through the air.

On Sunday, the Brockville Infantry Company will be on hand during the day to perform patrols, drills and manoeuvres with military precision. Non-uniformed village men will be recruited and drilled as part of a sedentary militia muster just before 1:00 p.m. It is rumoured that even visiting children and their parents may be sought after to join in the militia drills, where they will be invited to dress in a red coat, and have their skills tested (2:45 p.m.). The Brockville Infantry Company will return for another demonstration of their prowess in the afternoon (3:15 p.m.).

Always a popular part of any 1860s celebration, and sure to be a hit for modern-day guests at Upper Canada Village, are a number of athletic games such as tug-of-war, relay races and sack races, to be held on all three days (1:30 p.m. on Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday and Monday afternoon). After the games, children and their families will be invited to have a piece of birthday cake and a drink of lemonade.

“Queen Victoria’s Birthday Celebrations” is the first in a series of events at Upper Canada Village in May, including “Spring on the Farm” (May 20 to June 3), and “Heirloom Plant Sale and Garden Weekend” (May 23 and 24).