加拿大庆祝女童军100周年

Tens of thousands of girls and women of all ages were celebrating across the country Saturday to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Girl Guides of Canada.

From sunrise ceremonies in Newfoundland to a sleepover in Vancouver, and including events on Parliament Hill in Ottawa and at Ontario Place in Toronto, some 50,000 guides past and present were expected to attend the gatherings.

The organization first took root in Canada in 1910 in St. Catharines, Ont., and by 1912 there were units in every province.

On Saturday, dubbed Rally Day, celebrations were planned in every province and in the Northwest Territories and the Yukon.

The largest gathering was expected to be the one at Ontario Place, where an estimated 11,000 participants were taking part in a camping skills competition, a drumming circle and the creation of a graffiti mural.

More than 1,300 people gathered in Sussex, N.B., to mark the event. New Brunswick is one of the only provinces in the country where participation is increasing. Group leaders say this is thanks to a group of dedicated volunteers.

The 24-hour event was set to close in Vancouver with about 8,000 guides gathering for a sleepover at Pacific Coliseum.

In addition to celebrating the anniversary, the events were intended to draw attention to the organization's national project to eradicate hunger and poverty.

In Nova Scotia, thousands of guides marked their commitment by hanging leaves on a symbolic hunger tree.

[IMG]http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/news/photos/2010/05/15/wd-tor-girl-guides.jpg[/IMG]
Girl guides celebrate the 100th anniversary of their organization at Ontario Place, observed by the CBC's Michael Dick, in one of many gatherings across the country.