Canada Day On Parliament Hill

Artistic Director | Senior Producer

Project Info

THE STORY

I’m an immigrant to Canada and like most immigrants, I love this country. To be assigned the task of creating two free shows in one day on Parliament Hill focused on celebrating our country is a huge honour and a gigantic challenge. I have been assigned this honour three times, in 2001, 2005 and 2011. I am deeply grateful to the wonderful technical teams and extraordinary artists we drafted to execute these shows.

Audience

Artists

THE BACKSTORY

“Could I book a round trip ticket?”

I was speaking to Captain Gavin Crouch, co-ordinator of Canada’s aerobatics military flying team, The Snowbirds.

“A round trip ticket? For a Fly by? Not sure I understand”, he said.

It is unquestionably one of the most exciting moments of the Canada Day celebrations on Parliament Hill. For a producer, it’s a treasured segment; thrilling, thunderous and thrifty…free in fact. You don’t get many moments like that in a show. So, naturally, I wanted it twice.

“Yes, round trip, please. Fly over the House of Commons direction north at precisely 12.05, hit a u-turn and fly back, direction south, cresting over the Peace Tower exactly one minute and thirty-six seconds, and five frames later”.

“Well, we’ve never done this before”, Captain Crouch told me which is exactly what a producer wants to hear from a guy in a red fight suit.

“It’s going to require some math, speed of the plane, the velocity of the wind…etc.”.

I was using the fly-by as sound design – musical punctuation to the ending of the opening number. We needed it to frame perfect and in 2005 it was. In 2011, it was late, by about two seconds, the longest two seconds of my life.

“Captain, if I wanted a late fly over, I would have booked Air Canada”.

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Canada Day – 2004

Canada Day – 2005

Broadcast Reach in millions

Crew

THE CHALLENGE

The Weather, Security, Politics and Canadian audiences wondering why we don’t book American headliners to celebrate Canada Day!

Thanks For Watching

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