Testimonials - Trip to Ottawa

The 2008 edition of the Poster Challenge was a great success – close to 13,000 young people participated. Here is what the finalists had to say about their experiences in the National Capital Region:

Rémi Petitpas
13 years old
New Brunswick (Haute-Aboujagane)
Our trip to Ottawa was fantastic, and we were treated like royalty. The representatives from Canadian Heritage were all amazing, and the experience was unforgettable! I’m glad I entered the contest!

Elizabeth Yeoh
9 years old
Ontario (Oakville)
I'm really glad that I entered the 2008 Canada Day Poster Challenge. This contest has opened an opportunity to show my pride in Canada, face a challenge and do my very best to honour my country. I enjoyed the trips to the National Gallery of Canada, Canadian Children's Museum and celebrating Canada Day on Parliament Hill as a VIP guest. Canada, my drawing is about you. You are a great and beautiful country. I will continue to make you proud.

Christy Groves
16 years old
Newfoundland and Labrador (Forteau)
This trip has exceeded our expectations! The hospitality was amazing! My experience with the Poster Challenge 2008 trip to Ottawa was unlike anything I could have imagined. I saw so many wonderful and amazing things, did so much and met so many magnificent people. The trip was truly awesome and I learned so many wonderful new things about this beautiful country Canada.

Chloe Mahar
11 years old
Prince Edward Island (Georgetown)
I would like to first of all thank the coordinators of the Poster Challenge for their wonderful organizational skills as our trip was one amazing experience after
another. The whole week was packed with so many wonderful events, being front and centre at the Canada Day show was awesome as were all the great tours through our capital city from the National Gallery to Parliament Hill to the fireworks display. It was all great!

Isabelle Renault
11 years old
Nova Scotia (Lawrencetown)
I loved all the food and sleeping at the hotel. But most of all, I liked the kindness and hospitality of the people organizing the activities. I had a great time!

Monica-Feb Slaney
13 years old
Québec (Saint-Léonard)
I tried to picture how the trip was going to be. I could have never imagined how organized and well done it was. This trip was fun and educational. The fact that there were a lot of kids was never an issue because you guys made sure the place we were staying at was very comfortable. Thank you so much! Everything was great!

Stephanie Hunt
12 years old
Manitoba (Winnipeg)
The trip to Ottawa was a fabulous new experience. I enjoyed being able to go to special events that were not open to just anyone. The hotel was absolutely amazing to stay in. I would recommend keeping next year’s activities as similar as possible for another group to enjoy it as much as I did.

Rebecca Clark
14 years old
Saskatchewan (Wolseley)
"Trez beans" is how I would describe the experience of our family's trip to Ottawa and Québec City. I learned these words from the World War I display at
the Canadian War Museum. The soldiers in the trenches coined this phrase from the French words "très bien" and used it to describe anything that was good. Everything about this trip was "trez beans", especially our hosts.

Dana Lychak
12 years old
Alberta (Derwent)
This trip was a very wonderful experience! It meant the world to me to be able to see this beautiful city. I learned about many new things and had a great time at the Canada Day celebration. I made good friends with many of the 13 winners and will never forget them. This would definitely be a trip I would want to experience again.

Chrissy Wang
14 years old
British Columbia (Coquitlam)
From the giant spider to the Canada Day festivities, every event was interesting and unforgettable. This trip to eastern Canada really opened our eyes and we really appreciate what you have done for us and for all the participants. Good job and many thanks.

Ferryn Nowatzki
15 years old
Yukon (Marsh Lake)
Being a finalist was an extremely exciting experience! Meeting all the other finalists from across the country was amazing and I got to see how other people see
our country. The days in Ottawa were packed with exciting and interesting tours of the Museum of Civilization and the National Gallery of Canada. There were many fun receptions and most exciting of all was celebrating Canada Day on Parliament Hill!

Houmisha Nunkoo
10 years old
Northwest Territories (Yellowknife)
Today I can say that I was one of the finalists of the Poster Challenge 2008 and I had the opportunity to celebrate Canada Day in Ottawa, which was really mind-blowing, and so was the visit to the Parliament and meeting the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

Naomi Alookee
16 years old
Nunavut (Taloyoak)
Throughout the trip in Ottawa I experienced a lot of things. Like how the Parliament Buildings were built and also the Peace Tower. Throughout the whole stay everything that we did was an experience for me.