Canada Day in Orangeville included a reminder of the fact that the country has remained free for almost a century and a half, largely because of the blood shed by thousands of youthful Canadians.

At the town's Royal Canadian Legion, MP David Tilson - who had just returned from a tour of the Juno Beach memorial and other sites - paid tribute to the 25,000 who had stormed the beaches of Normandy 64 years ago under the enemy's well emplaced machine guns and artillery.

And Rev. Harvey Self, the Legion's padre, reminded a record crowd that the fight for freedom hasn't ended. He offered a prayer for two local soldiers who are now serving in Afghanistan - and no one had forgotten that one Orangeville soldier, Cpl. Matthew McCully, had already given his life.

Warden John Oosterhof, whose roots are in Holland, counted Canada as the most blest country on earth, and Dufferin as at least one of the best places in the country to call one's home.

It must have been a good day for eating in the outdoors. Despite the best of planning, the Legion's barbecue ran out of food three times during the Tuesday event.

The day's festivities reached a climax at 10 p.m. Tuesday with a huge fireworks display at the Orangeville Fairgrounds in Mono, when hordes of area residents enjoyed food, fun and entertainment that included a talent contest and another speech by Mr. Tilson.