Article content It was difficult to say who was more excited to be at the event: the children clearly thrilled to see some of their heroes or the character performers happy to be again working in public. “It feels so good to get out and get involved in community events again,” said stilt-walker Doug Hunt, known as Doug the Great, who welcomed vehicles near the front gates. “I’ve been just looking at my stilts in the closet. This is my first gig since the pandemic hit and I’ve really been looking forward to it.” The Young Canadians Drive-Thru Character Safari was organized by the city as part of a modified version of Canada Day programming as it faced balancing both appropriate pandemic events and acknowledging the discovery of unmarked graves at some of Canada’s residential schools.