Last year NY1 anchor Pat Kiernan (who also posts his favorite stories each day at PatsPapers.com) gave us tips on how to celebrate Canada Day—following that, he took some of our readers out to indulge in the beloved French-Canadian dish poutine. And here we go again! Mr. Kiernan (who if you didn't know by now, is Canadian) just sent over his newly updated tips for celebrating Canada Day as a New Yorker (it's this Thursday, July 1st). And you'll want to scroll down for more information on how to win poutine with Pat later this month!

Go skating
By that I mean "ice skating." But in Canada nobody says "ice" in front of skating because it's assumed that's what you mean. The City Ice Pavillion in Long Island City keeps the pond frozen year-round and offers public skating on the 1st from 11:30 am to 1:50 pm.
Drive to the border
Most every Canadian city has a fireworks display at sunset on July 1st. If there's still time for you to make the 7-hour drive to Niagara Falls, the fireworks over the water are pretty. And you can see them from the American side if you don't want to cross the border.
Listen to Canadian music
There's more to Canadian music than Bieber Fever. Joe's Pub hosts the annual "Great Canadian Songbook" event at 7:30 and 9:30 on July 1st.
Find Canadian food
La Pescadeux (90 Thompson Street) invited me to try a Canada Day prix-fixe menu on Thursday, featuring Quebec Tourtiere and Grand Bank Flounder. In Brooklyn, Mile End has been making its mark by serving Montreal-style bagels and smoked meat. And after bringing in some Canadian executives to improve its private label offerings, Duane Reade has become secret source for a favorite Canadian supermarket cookie. The "Delish" chocolate chip cookie sold at Duane Reade is better known in Canada as the President's Choice "Decadent" cookie.
Find Canadian drink
Ontario Bar in Williamsburg has Molson, Labatt and Moosehead beer chilling for you now. Or if it's a hot beverage you're craving, head to one of the city's new Tim Hortons coffee shops.

CONTEST ALERT:

In mid-July we'll be joining Pat at Mile End for some poutine, and we want to invite a few of you! For a chance to win, stay tuned to our newsletter and Twitter, as well as Pat's Twitter—over the next week we'll be posting trivia questions to each of those outlets and picking three winners to join us.