UPDATE Friday, June 30: So far Halifax is one for two on pre-Canada Day fireworks. Last night's light show as part of the "Kids Extravaganza" at Bedford Days went off fine, but tonight's fireworks by Lake Banook for the EPIC Dartmouth triathlon have fizzled. (It's not the rain, which is clearing, but the low cloud cover that got EPIC's fireworks cancelled.) What does this 50 percent showing mean for Canada Day fireworks proper?
There are two fireworks shows planned for Saturday, July 1, one at the Halifax Common, the other at Dewolf Park in Bedford. Both are supposed to start at 10pm. If Saturday's weather doesn't cooperate, the rain date for Halifax is Sunday, July 2, 10pm, and for Bedford it's holiday Monday, July 3, 10pm.
Right now, Environment Canada is forecasting rain until noon Saturday, then a 30 percent chance of showers into the night. In other words, we're all gonna have to wait and see if the fireworks will happen. In other other words, it's standard Halifax weather.
City officials deal with the certainty of uncertainty by explaining on the official fireworks schedule how the decision to go ahead or cancel is made. Here's how it works for Canada Day:
Municipal staff consult the weather authorities at 5 p.m. and make the first call on the fireworks at the time. If weather conditions change drastically between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m., a final decision will be forthcoming to the public at 9 p.m.So if you are checking in with the city at 5pm, remember that depending on how the weather shakes down you might get a different answer from the final decision at 9pm.
If the weather completely refuses to cooperate this long weekend, what happens to the fireworks? At the bottom of that official schedule is a note that "The municipality has the discretion to either reschedule further, or cancel the fireworks and bank the credit for the following year." So it just may be that the big Canada 150 fireworks will be for Canada 151.
To get the official word on cancellations, check the HRM Canada Day site, call the city's 311 phone info line and/or consult the city on social media. Here's the @hfxcivicevents Twitter feed for handy reference:
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