We have had gale force winds buffet our SESQUIdome in Richmond Hill. We have filmed in a range of 66 Celsius difference and tested the limits of our equipment and crew (from -36°C on the low end in Yellowknife to a sweltering +30° C in Vancouver). We have been inundated with young curious students about our VR in Hamilton, withstood 3 hour film lineups in Kingston summer heat, went overcapacity for our West Coast premiere in Vancouver (thank you for added a fourth screening HCM) and became embedded as partners in the revitalized Regent Park, Toronto community.

We have worked with the likes of Canadian icons David Suzuki, Susan Aglukark, Susur Lee, Survivorman Les Stroud, Lainey Gossip and Naheed Nenshi on their celebrity SESQUATCHes. We have been graced with the presence of new Syrian-Canadians opening our Canada Day SESQUIfest in London,  been able to expose the deaf to a whole new reality at the Bob Rumball Centre of Excellence for the Deaf, show Canada to the proud and courageous members of the military in Kingston and had many sacred Indigenous ceremonial openings to our events.

We have been viewed in events as disparate as Canadian embassy parties around the world, in Mexico City’s biggest square, the Grey Cup festival in Ottawa, Whoop Up days in Lethbridge and Canada Games in Winnipeg.

Through it all, we have had the privilege to see the best of Canada – its talented and inspiring performers, its generous and patient citizens, its jaw-dropping unique landscapes and the sparks that make Canada so special to ourselves and people the world over. As our initial teaser video mentions with now profound truth “Canada, is more than just a place, it’s a feeling, it’s a spark that happens when we come together, dream together.”

On this last month of Canada’s 150th birthday, here’s a recap of the 150 places we have been over, across, below, above and around this magnificent Canada over the last two years:

Yukon:

#1 Fish Lake, Whitehorse (filming our spectacular skating and skiing ice sequences)

#2 Boundary Mountain Range (making new-to-this-world aerial 360° cinematography from a helicopter)

#3 Whitehorse,Yukon College (SESQUI cinematic inflatable screenings)

British Columbia

#4 Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve (shooting Haida long houses, totems and unspoiled nature)

#5 Masset, Haida Gwaii (peering inside a Haida carving shed)

#6 Agate Beach and Misty Meadows Provincial Park (filming Haida musical/dance performance)

#7 Hallelujah Point, Stanley Park, Vancouver  (with our fresh air orchestra)

#8 Lower Seymour Conservation Area, North Vancouver (staring 150 feet up at our repellers)

#9 Vancouver Public Library, Downtown Vancouver (with our smart mob of Bhangra dancers)

#10 Vancouver (developing our watery geodesic VR segment Waterdome)

#11 Rocky Mountains (Lawren Harris “Mountains in Snow” and “Mountain Forms’ paintings)

#12 Kelowna – Capital News Centre (screenings in a Cinematic Inflatable)

#13 Prince George Public Library (Cinematic inflatable)

#14 Surrey City Hall Atrium (SESQUI inflatable)

#15 Vancouver – H.R. MacMillan Space Centre (West Coast film  premiere and ongoing planetarium screenings)

#16 Vernon – Creekside Conference Centre (SESQUI Inflatable)

#17 Victoria – Victor-Brodeur School (SESQUI Inflatable)

#18 Whistler – Audain Art Museum (SESQUI Inflatable)

Alberta

#19 Ghost Lake (riding alongside our ice sailors)

#20 Drumheller (driving Alberta cattle from horseback)

#21 Rocky Mountains (staring jaws agape at snow-capped Rocky Mountains)

#22 Near Jasper National Park (discovering mountain sheep and quiet trees in winter)

#23 Mount Lefroy (Lawren Harris painting)

#24 Near Banff National Park (peering along a winter mountain stream)

#25 Banff National Park – Cave and Basin National Historic Site (Cinematic Inflatable)

#26 Calgary Telus Spark Centre (Planetarium screen – World Premiere and ongoing)

#27 Edmonton – Telus World of Science (Planetarium screen ongoing)

#28 Jasper Planetarium (Cinematic Inflatable)

#29 Lethbridge Whoop Up Festival (VR)

#30 Medicine Hat Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre (VR)

Saskatchewan

#31 Wakaw (riding trains as prairie storms set in)

#32 Meewasin Trail, Saskatoon (pulling 360° spins with BMX riders)

#33 Regina (filming our Syrian-Canadian hero’s VR journey Hani Al Moulia)

#34 Regina – University of Regina (VR)

#35 Saskatoon Exhibition – Prairieland Park (VR)

Manitoba

#36 Hudson Bay, Churchill (intriguing a pod of curious Beluga whales)

#37 Winnipeg International Airport (filming the Royal Winnipeg Ballet in a baggage carousel)

#38 Canadian Museum of Human Rights, Winnipeg (fusing Metis fiddling with architectural design)

#39 Winnipeg – International Terminal (VR)

#40 Winnipeg – Manitoba Museum (Planetarium screening and ongoing)

#41 Winnipeg – Canada Games (VR)

Northwest Territories

#42 Aurora Village, Yellowknife (mushing with sled dogs and starting up at the Northern lights)

#43 Great Slave Lake (building snow castles and playing shinny near houseboats)

#44 Yellowknife Multiplex (SESQUI Inflatable)

#45 Yellowknife Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre (SESQUI Inflatable)

Nunavut

#46 Iqaluit (filming joking schoolchildren and watching the sun rise)

#47 Iqaluit area (telling the story of Canada’s real-life superhero Polarman in VR)

#48 Iqaluit – Alianait Festival at Iqaluit Unikkaarvik Visitor Centre (VR)

#49 Baffin Island (Lawren Harris – Eclipse Sound & Bylot Island paintings)

Nova Scotia

#50 Lunenburg (watching the bustle of the harbour and spectating boat building)

#51 Peggy’s Cove (what else but filming the rocks and the lighthouse)

#52 Halifax Discovery Centre (East Coast premiere and ongoing Planetarium screenings)

#53 Truro Rath Eastlink Community Centre (SESQUI Inflatable)

Prince Edward Island

#54 O’Leary, West Cape (observing the wind farm sentinels)

#55 Dromore (inhaling the colours of one of Canada’s most spectacular tulip fields)

#56 Near Summerside (tilling the red earth of a taro farm)

#57 Charlottetown – Confederation Centre (Cinematic Inflatable)

#58 Summerside – Credit Union Place (Cinematic Inflatable)

New Brunswick

#59 La Dune de Bouctouche (watching the sunrise with our Acadian dance troupe on the boardwalk)

#60 Miramichi (canoeing and fly fishing down the famed river)

#62 Hopewell Cape (hanging around for the tides to come in and out over Fundy)

#63 Edmundston – Cité des Jeunes (Cinematic inflatable)

#64 Fredericton – Science East (Cinematic inflatable)

#65 Moncton – Crossman Community Centre (Cinematic inflatable)

Quebec

#66 Ungava Peninsula (tracking the largest migration of caribou in the world)

#67 Parc Olympique, Montreal (twirling and spinning with Canada’s finest parkour athletes)

#68 Biosphere, Montreal (setting off our fireworks)

#69 Place D’Youville (skating near the Citadelle)

#70 Old Quebec City (showing off our time-lapse cameras)

#70-71 Dollard-des-Ormeaux (two schools – Cinematic Inflatable)

#72 Gatineau – Museum of Canadian History (Planetarium screenings ongoing)

#73 LaSalle – Ecole Laurendeau-Dunton (Cinematic Inflatable)

#74 Mont-Royal – Ecole secondaire Pierre-Laporte (Cinematic Inflatable)

#75-77 Quebec City – multiple schools (Cinematic Inflatable)

#78 Trois-Rivières – Église St. James (Cinematic Inflatable)

Newfoundland and Labrador

#79 Fogo Island (scenic watching from the Fogo Island Inn)

#80 Tilting – Phil’s Shed (shed partying)

#81 Coastal Newfoundland (iceberg watching and shanty singing)

#82 St. John’s Johnson Geo Centre (multiple screenings in our Cinematic Inflatable)

Ontario

#83 Waterdown (filming our opening scene Helicopter & Aerial silk dancing act)

#84 Rideau Canal (illuminated paddling with dragon boaters, lion and dragon dancers)

#85 Bay Street Toronto (observing the urban hustle)

#86 Prince Edward County (assembling our ensemble choir and instrumentalists in picturesque barn)

#87 Fathom Five National Park, Tobermory (chilling underwater with our Synchro Canada national team)

#88 Sandback Provincial Park (admiring the breezes and dunes with dance auteur Margie Gillis)

#89 Remic Rapids Park, Ottawa (throat singing and rock balancing)

#90 Coe Hill (synchronizing hip hop adventures in the forest)

#91 Hamilton (skateboarding underneath a highway pass)

#92 Richmond Hill (single track biking in forest of trilliums)

#93 Sudbury (tree planting in the setting summer sun)

#94- 95 Sand Lake & Algoma (Lawren Harris Paintings)

#96-97 Lake Superior (Lawren Harris Pantings)

#98 Pikangikum (bringing to life important school murals in VR)

#99 Fort York, Toronto (combining A Tribe Called Red music with hip hop and indigenous dance)

#100 Kleinburg (being inspired by the world of Lawren Harris)

#101 Aurora (VR Installation)

#102 Brampton (Graden Square Movie Night VR)

#103 Belleville (Waterfront and Ethnic Festival VR)

#104 Collingwood (SESQUI on ice, inflatable at Central Park Arena)

#105 Hamilton Art Gallery (VR GH BMO World Film Festival VR)

#106 Hamilton Cathedral High School (VR)

#107 Kingston (SESQUIdome for 5 days opposite the K-Rock Centre)

#108 Kingston (VR demonstration with Polarman in attendance)

#109 London Budweiser Gardens (SESQUIdome for 5 days during the Canada Day SESQUIfest)

#110 Mississauga (VR and SESQUATCH activation at the Canada Day Celebrations)

#111 Newmarket Public Library (VR)

#112 Newmarket Stuart Scott Public school (Cinematic Inflatable)

#113 Niagara Falls (VR)

#114 Ottawa TD Place (Inflatable at Grey Cup Festival)

#115 Ottawa Science and Tech Museum (Cinematic Inflatable)

#116 Pikangikum (Workshops and VR viewing)

#117 Richmond Hill Richmond Green (5 days with our SESQUIdome- record attendance)

#118 Richmond Hill Tastes of the Hill (Festival VR)

#119 Richmond Hill Richmond Green Sports Centre (New Years Eve inflatable)

#120 Sarnia (Southwestern International Film Festival (Festival VR)

#121 Scarborough (first glimpse preview of our SESQUIdome)

#122 Scarborough (VR)

#123 St.Catharines – Brock University (VR)

#124 Sault Ste. Marie Station Mall (5 days with the SESQUIdome)

#125 Sudbury Science North (Planetarium screen)

#126 Temagami Arena (SESQUI Inflatable)

#127 Thornhill – Stephen Lewis Secondary School (VR)

#128 Thunder Bay Intercity Shopping Centre (SESQUIdome for five days)

#129 Timmins (Stars and Thunder Festival – VR)

#130-31 Toronto Queens Park (Lieutenant Governor’s Levee, event VR and Dundas Square kickoff )

#132-134 Toronto – OMDC, Hot Docs and FITC (VR Exhibitions and Panels)

#135 Toronto Exhibition Grounds (CNE VR Festival)

#136 Toronto- Fort York (VR)

#137 Toronto-Regent Park  (5 days with the SESQUIdome)

#138 Toronto – Daniel’s Paintbox and Spectrum (SESQUIdome premiere day)

#139 East York – Estonian House (SESQUI Inflatable)

#140-141 Toronto – Multiple Schools (Cinematic Inflatable)

#142 North York – Bob Rumball Centre of Excellence for the Deaf (VR)

#143 Trenton YMCA Quinte West (Cinematic Inflatable)

#144 Whitby Abilities Centre (Cinematic Inflatable)

#145 Windsor Riverfront (5 days with the SESQUIdome)

International

#146 Mexico City – Plaza du la Republica (Planetarium screening)

#147-150 International Canadian Embassy Viewings – Americas, Southern Hemisphere, Europe, Asia (VR)

With gratitude, thank you Canada!