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New Victoria parade manager keeps spirit of the old

Victoria’s parades will march on, minus a special man. The death of venerable parade organizer Ron Butlin in September at the age of 89 left the city’s Victoria Day and Christmas parades needing someone new to take them on.
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Kelly Kurta: "I haven't missed a parade since I was 15."

Victoria’s parades will march on, minus a special man.

The death of venerable parade organizer Ron Butlin in September at the age of 89 left the city’s Victoria Day and Christmas parades needing someone new to take them on. Both are run by the Greater Victoria Festival Society and, as society general manager, Butlin was their public face for 21 years.

After being approached about a year ago, Kelly Kurta has emerged as Butlin’s successor, as general manager and point person for the parades. The 45-year-old, who grew up in Victoria and attended Oak Bay High, is in the process of moving back to the city from Vancouver with her family.

She is branch manager for the Vancouver office of Journey Freight International and has extensive involvement with charities such as Ronald McDonald House.

Kurta marched in the Victoria Day parade for three years with the Oak Bay High band, and has always made a point of being here to see it.

“I haven’t missed a parade since I was 15,” she said.

On top of that, her first job after high school was with the festival society in 1987 and 1988 doing administrative work. She has a family connection to the society, with her mother, Gail Stewart, being a longtime board member.

Kurta said stepping into Butlin’s role means a lot because he was a mentor and friend. “Ron was like an adopted grandfather to my kids.”

The plan is to give as much to the parades as Butlin did, Kurta said. “He went above and beyond, and that’s what we’re going to continue to do.”

Butlin will be honoured at upcoming parades.

Kurta and the society board, led by president Barbara Coultish, also want to reprise some of the other eight to 10 events the society used to produce. A Victoria version of the Amazing Race is one possibility.

Island Farms is still the title sponsor for the parades and the society is hoping to add other sponsors, Kurta said.

Another item on the immediate agenda is finding new office space that can be donated to the non-profit group. “Somebody out there has got to have a spot or a cubbyhole or a cubicle or something,” Kurta said.

There will also be changes to the parades, such as cutting the Victoria Day event by an hour or more from its current three-and-a-half-hours.

Coultish said Kurta has been brought along by the board and has just what it takes to fill Butlin’s role. “She’s fantastic. Kelly just took the reins and just ran with them.”

One big change will be creating a website and establishing email sign-ups for parade participants, Coultish said. “Everything will be online.”

Things were different under Butlin, she said.

“Ron was old-school and he did a great job the way he was doing it.”

That meant a landline for a phone and a fax machine, and no computer.

Like many others, Coultish said it is hard to imagine the parades without Butlin. “It’s been hard but we’re trying to make him proud of us.”

She said Butlin was so much more than a colleague at the society. “We adored him.”

The annual Santa’s Light Island Farms Parade takes place Saturday, Nov. 29 at 5:45 p.m.

jwbell@timescolonist.com