After breakfast it was off for Public Viewing day. The public viewing was very crowded for the whole three hours, as both friends & family and the general public toured the projects. As usual there were far more interesting projects than there was time to see them, and as noon rolled around it was time for the last lunch in the Project display arena. After that it was time for project takedown, which happened uneventfully.
Then there was one last special event - a Victoria Day festival in downtown Peterborough, by the river and boat docks.
This was a nice event that included a free concert and various activities (for all visitors, not just CWSF students). The concert was the same band that had played earlier in the week for us, "Full Throttle".
For the Fair students there was also a boat cruise on the river, which was enjoyed by all... then we settled down and were treating to a nice fireworks display.
While the official reason for the fireworks was Victoria Day, I would like to think this was an extra bit of recognition for the hard work all the students of Team BASEF did, from the moment they started their projects to the moment they finished with the public viewing here at Canada-Wide. This was a great set of projects from a truly terrific group of kids.
As we wrap up the week, it has without doubt been a pleasure to be here this week with these kids. From all of us "Delegates" to all of the students (the "Finalists"), thank you for your hard work, for being respectful and considerate, and for making this a very enjoyable week for everyone involved. When the biggest emergency of the week was just an invasion of some ants into Mikaela's room, I think we can label the event as a big success. I can tell that every student involved will walk away with new experiences, new friends, and some cases even new inspiration for the future. The theme Peterborough used for some of its events was "connecting waters" - being able to go from here, on the banks of the river at Trent University, and pick a path that will lead nearly anywhere. Good luck to everyone as they explore where these paths will take them.
We have one more task left - the trip home. Well, two tasks if "catching up on sleep" actually counts.
