Victoria Day Parade

Victoria Day is a national holiday in Canada but is an especially big holiday here in the city named for the English queen whose birthday is being celebrated on that day. The parade is a long tradition and it never fails to delight. As usual, there were lots of marching bands but I thought the tyranosaurus (left) was a nice feature. As for the 12 year old on the right, getting to ride a growling dirt bike in an outfit like that is pretty awesome, but doing wheelies down Douglas Street in front of an admiring crowd - well, I hope he went home happy - it's not gonna get much better than this.

Victoria Day Parade 6 - Ethnic Communities

I have to confess that the Victoria Day Parade is getting a lot of coverage here this year partially because the weather lately has been dreadful - cold and dark and rainy - so I have not been out and about much despite two very inviting outdoor events - the Highland Games and the Swiftsure Yacht Race. However, the parade really deserves more exposure than I usually give it so here are a few more photos representing some of the displays put on by Victoria's ethnic communities. The girls above were in one of several displays representing our vibrant Chinese-Canadian community and the young woman below was playing on a float celebrating the Polish ethnic community.

Majorettes and Beauty Queens - Victoria Day Parade 5

Here's two more traditional parts of every parade - the majorettes that often accompany marching bands (above) and the beauty queens representing various organizations. Those below represent Job's Daughters. There weren't very many beauty queens in this year's parade. I suspect the era of beauty queens is passing.

Victoria Day Parade 4

With any parade the bystanders on the sidelines are often as interesting as the participants marching past. This trio was having so much fun I don't think anyone nearby was watching the parade. It's been a long time since I played Ring Around the Rosie. If I fell down now I'd probably break my hip. This is one of those games that only works when you're still fairly close to the ground.

Marching Bands - Victoria Day Parade 3

Despite all the social changes in the last century here is something that seems to maintain its popularity - elaborately costumed kids' marching bands. When I was a boy I played trumpet in one that toured the USA and Canada one summer (1956), traveling from city to city and marching in their parades. Consequently these marching bands bring back plenty of memories. We wore dark blue capes lined with bright red satin that I thought were just about the sharpest thing possible. I'm sure the kids in these pictures are much more blasé about their outfits.

Trumpeters in berets	Flautists in buttons
Saxaphonists in kilts	Clarinetists in plaid

Parades would be pretty dead and dull without the show these kids provide. Many thanks to the American and Canadian kids who marched and played.

Horses - Victoria Day Parade 2

These splendid horses belong to the Victoria Fire Department and were pulling an antique fire engine in the parade. I think they are a kind of horse known as a Percheron.

Clowns - Victoria Day Parade 1

Victoria always celebrates Victoria Day with a parade and over the next few days I will share some of the photographs I took of this year's. To set the mood here's a couple of photos of clowns. They are always always fascinating subjects since there is a double layer to their features - the makeup and the expression underneath it, each giving added depth to the other.

Parade

One of the features of the Victoria Day Weekend is high school marching bands - about 40 of them perform and march in the Victoria Day parade. This year almost all of the bands were from the states of Washington, Oregon and California. These kids put on a terrific show and helped to make this weekend a success. I'll probably be posting pictures of some individual bands and performers over the next week or so but for now, above is a sousaphone's view of the parade.

Victoria Day Weekend 1

Victoria Day is a nation-wide holiday in Canada, now celebrated on the last Monday before May 24th, which was Queen Victoria's birthday. Probably nowhere in Canada is it celebrated with such fervor, however, as here in the city that bears her name. There are so many events that it is difficult to know where to go or what to look at and photo opportunities are everywhere. Today we have the Highland Games and to celebrate that as well as to doff my hat in memory of Queen Victoria's long time Scottish companion, John Brown, I offer a photo of a bagpiper playing above the Inner Harbour Causeway. Click the video below to hear a sample of his music.