City celebrates 50 years of survival.

Can you believe it? This Canada Day weekend, June 30 to July 4, Elliot Lake is celebrating its 50th Anniversary. Organizers are planning quite the bash, culminating with a concert from former Bachman-Turner Overdrive and Guess Who frontman Randy Bachman in the city's downtown lower plaza parking lot. The city's director of projects, tourism and leisure, Dan Gagnon, expects a crowd of 6,000 for the July 2 street dance. Gagnon has also been working with myriad community groups, schools and business organizations to co-ordinate what festivities they are organizing on their own, such as the Elliot Lake Secondary School 50th year reunion. The party, to be "dragged out as long as possible" in case you were wondering, will coincide with the former Uranium Festival, though on a much larger scale.

The city wants all of its former residents, especially those that haven't been since they left during the exodus in the early 1990s, to come on home and see what their town has become since they last saw it. And don't worry, Highway 108 has been redone and is a much better drive these days.

All the details, including an online event registration portal, are available at www.cityofelliotlake.com/50home.html.