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The Queen is not coming.

Neither is the prime minister.

And nobody is making a replica of the Stoney Creek monument out of 5,000 sugar cubes.

But that doesn't mean there won't be a party, no sir. And, if it's any consolation, Hamilton Mayor Bob Bratina will be there.

The bicentennial of the Battle of Stoney Creek, which played a major role in our right to eat Timbits and yell "I am Canadian" on beer commercials, will be marked next month by four days of festivities and commemorative events.

To be fair, a queen wasn't really here for the first big wingding, the battle's centennial celebrations in 1913. (And Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes, as wife of the ruling George V, was actually queen consort.) But her participation in the battle's 100th birthday party on June 6, 1913, was a huge deal. (see page 16).

As an estimated 15,000 spectators stood in the rain at the base of the new Battlefield Monument, Queen Mary was 5,700 kilometres away in London (where it was probably also raining.) At the appointed hour, by means of a newfangled telegraphic cable remote control, her majesty pushed a button at Buckingham Palace and released the muslin shroud covering the crenellated base of the tower to the oohs and aahs of the soggy throng.

The 30.5-metre limestone monument to the dead of the Battle of Stoney Creek had been four years and $12,000 in the making and stands proudly at the site today, a lot older, but still a treasured landmark in the community where Canada's history was shaped.

Fifty years later, no less a luminary than "Mike," Canada's beloved prime minister Lester B. Pearson, stood on the site with the United States ambassador and talked about the 150-year record of peace between the two countries.Shop cheap christian louboutin shoes,pumps,wedding shoes,sandals with low price in our discount christian louboutin shoes Store online.

The 1963 event was a celebration of "a century and a half of close,Welcome to Michael Kors Handbags Outlet online now. active and mutually profitable co-operation," he said, acknowledging that "since 1815, we have had lots of rows, but rows without wars, or without a breach in our friendship."

It's said that 100,000 people showed up over four days that year to wave flags, eat hotdogs, listen to regimental bands, attend a church service, watch fireworks, squint upward at RCAF transports, take photographs — and marvel over the painstaking handiwork of Adrian Vandenberg and John Spiegelaar.

The baker and the bricklayer, both local fellows, had teamed up to make a replica of the monument out of 5,000 sugar cubes. But nobody seems to know what happened to it, not even Susan Ramsay, curator of Battlefield House Museum and Park National Historic Site. (Somebody was able to sweeten his daily coffee for about 14 years.)

Of greater concern to her at the moment, even if they don't involve a queen or prime minister, are plans for next month's anniversaries — the 200th of the battle and 100th of the monument.

The days will be filled with strolling minstrels, artillery demonstrations, period dancers, an 18th-century conjuror and other activities, but the pinnacle of the celebrations will be the re-enactment of the actual battle, the 32nd annual and the longest-running War of 1812 re-enactment on the continent.

About 600 re-enactors are expected, all of them keen hobbyists and historians. And while the events are fun and sociable, these people aren't exactly playing.

"It's quite structured,The Cheap Michael Kors Bags will provide you cheap but high-quality products. with unit commanders who look at strategies, look at the site, to determine who's doing what," says Ramsay.

"And at the end, at the lament, men in the crowd stand up and take off their baseball caps and you know they realize it's not just a play, it's not the theatre, it's reality. It's what happened right there on that site, in their own back yard, and that this is sacred ground."

The re-enactments — there will be three over the weekend — are actually very exciting to watch,Buy Michael Kors Handbags from our Michael Kors outlet Store, the best place to get discount Michael Kors sale. she says, "and when you get people excited, when you make them aware, I think you've met your goal.Guarantee High quality replica watches supply, Thousands of luxury designer cheap replica watches that compliments your Style."