A detail is seen of the Queen's rowbarge Gloriana on the Thames River in London on Saturday. On Sunday, a flotilla headed of 1,000 boats assembled from around the globe will sail along the Thames to accompany the Queen on a royal barge, in a celebration of her Diamond Jubilee.Ki Price/Reuters
While the British are celebrating the Queen's six decades on the throne with a 1,000-boat pageant along the Thames River, a concert at Buckingham Palace and a plethora of street parties, the festivities in Canada will be more modest.
The high-profile four-day Canadian tour by Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, has come and gone, but there are a number of local events still ahead for Canadians looking to commemorate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
On Monday, more than 4,000 beacons will be lit in Britain and other Commonwealth states, including several across Canada.
In Ontario's cottage country, a beacon will be lit on the beach of Growler Lake by an association of local property owners. Another beacon will be lit by the Saskatoon chapter of Osteoporosis Canada, in Saskatchewan. Beacons will also light up the sky in British Columbia and Alberta.
Several hotels will also play host to celebrations, including Victoria's Fairmont Empress, where a dog show and a tea party will mark the occasion on Sunday afternoon. In Toronto, Le Méridien King Edward hotel will host afternoon tea all weekend and a Jubilee brunch on Sunday.
In London, Ont., London Celebrates Canada will host a military band concert on Sunday afternoon, with musicians from the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry and the Windsor Regiment. At the event, which includes an eight-foot cake, Jubilee medals will be handed out to local recipients.
About 60,000 of the medals have been created to honour the Queen and recognize achievements by Canadians.
The federal government has set aside $2-million to sponsor community-based events across the country to celebrate the Queen's 60-year reign. These events ra nge from fascinator hat workshops to a Labour Day feast in the Northwest Territories community of Inuvik.
Alexandra Posadzki