COLD FEET AND WIND DAMAGE On October 20, Expo celebrated the sixtieth and last national day, that one belonged to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Despite a very cold temperature in Place des Nations, it was a ceremony full of color and warmth, in the presence of president Mobutus representative. Commissioner general Pierre Dupuy said: this is not without sadness that we see the end of these official visits of sovereigns and heads of State who came to pay tribute to Canada in its centenary year. The well attended ceremony began with a concert by a Congolese orchestra, African Fiesta National, and ended with a folk performance by a group of twenty-five Congolese dancers, singers and musicians. Bare footed and bare-chested males stepped on to the icy pavement accompanied by lovely women wearing brief lianas skirts. In spite of the goose pimples rising on bare midriffs, the Congolese dancers bravely stamped out drums and tom-toms rhythms. But afternoon performances were cancelled because of the inclement weather. In the afternoon, the Congolese representative accompanied by his wife, visited the Pavilion of his country as well as 14 other pavilions of African Place and then the pavilions of Canada and Quebec. The transit strike continued in Montreal. The prediction for the day was 205,000 visitors. 25,000 less came. The previous night’s high winds kept workmen busy replacing shingles on pavilion roofs, repairing blown out window panes, and bailing out overturned boats. One area of Man the Explorer was roped off so that plywood roof sections which had been blown out could be repaired. The International Scout Centre, which consists largely of a huge tent, almost blew away. And the Soviet Pavilion suffered roof damage. Security clamped down on cars parked in prohibited areas. Tow trucks were busy during most of the day, hauling cars to Victoria parking lot where owners had to pay cost of towing plus parking fees to recover the vehicles. Preliminary plans for an automotive centre were presented in the Youth Pavilion. The plans were the result of studies undertaken by the Canadian Motoring Consultants of Montreal who called for an ambitious automotive information and research centre and Grand Prix race circuit. (Compiled from/or adapted from: Day by Day, The Expo Story and De jour en jour à l’Expo 67, edited by Yves Jasmin /Photo: Unknown)
Posted on: Mon, 20 Oct 2014 04:20:33 +0000
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