Disclosure: I participated in the cannon firing as a guest of Parks Canada, which neither reviewed nor approved this post.
Did you know you can dress up like a 19th-century soldier and fire a real cannon at Fort Wellington National Historic Site in Prescott, Ontario?
I didn’t, until I tried it a couple of years ago.
Given that my only previous experience with firing anything was a brief, silly foray into skeet shooting, I thought I did pretty well. However, what you don’t see in this shot is me leaping approximately 50 feet in the air about a millisecond after it was taken, because the report is really loud and I’m very jumpy. All the Parks Canada staffers just about collapsed laughing. I suppose I shouldn’t give up my day job!
Here’s a photo that gives you a better idea of the reproduction uniforms participants and staff get to wear during the cannon experience.
Want to try it yourself? Details are available on the Fort Wellington website. The fee for the one-hour experience is $73.60. The fort—built during the War of 1812—also hosts all sorts of other activities, from a pirate day for kids to whisky tastings for adults.
Gift certificates for the cannon activity are very popular birthday gifts for military and history buffs, and if you want to have Dad fire a cannon on Father’s Day, you should plan far in advance.
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As the owner of Ottawa Road Trips, I acknowledge that I live on, work in and travel through the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg Nation. I am grateful to have the opportunity to be present on this land. Ottawa Road Trips supports Water First, a non-profit organization that helps address water challenges in Indigenous communities in Canada through education, training and meaningful collaboration.