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Victoria Day Parade: More bands, more floats

Organizer Kelly Kurta has some simple advice for people planning to take in the 118th annual Island Farms Victoria Day Parade on Monday. “Come down early, have fun, go to the food trucks,” she said.
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Island Farms Victoria Day Parade organizer Kelly Kurta.

Organizer Kelly Kurta has some simple advice for people planning to take in the 118th annual Island Farms Victoria Day Parade on Monday.

“Come down early, have fun, go to the food trucks,” she said.

And look for plenty of differences from the 2015 parade, Kurta said, especially the array of bands in the lineup.

“We’ve got double the bands from last year, they’ve really come on board,” she said. “We’ve got a couple of our local bands, Spectrum and Reynolds, and then we’ve got a couple from Vancouver and 18 of our American bands have come up.”

The Naden Band is at the head of the parade, and 15 other military entries will follow.

“New floats, new bands, new entries,” Kurta said. “It’s exciting.”

The parade, organized through the Greater Victoria Festival Society, will have 120 entries and more than 3,300 participants heading south on Douglas Street from the Mayfair Shopping Centre to Humboldt Street, she said. There is a 24-entry waiting list.

“It’s a good sign, and we’ve actually had three or four other people just in the last week say: ‘So, I’m interested in the parade,” she said. “Next year, we already have 15 bands committed.”

The parade will follow a tight schedule, Kurta said.

“We still plan on having the first entry leave at 9 a.m., the last one at 11:30. The parade should be over down on Humboldt by 1 o’clock.”

With one successful parade under her belt, Kurta is confident this year’s edition will be another crowd-pleaser. She stepped in last year after the death of long-time organizer and close friend Ron Butlin, who was behind both the Island Farms Victoria Day Parade and the Island Farms Santa’s Light Parade for 21 years.

Butlin is still part of the parade, Kurta said. “It’s a legacy to Ron. We try and honour everything that he did.”

Kurta was cagey about one of the parade participants.

“I hear rumblings that there’s a certain creature that’s going to joining us. I can’t really say for sure.”

A group from Washington state’s Sequim Festival is taking part for the first time, she said, and the Songhees First Nation is back for a second year.

“We love having a First Nations group with us.”

She smiled when asked to name a favourite participant. “I can’t say that, they’re all favourites to me.”

Kurta said this year’s organizational effort hit a bit of a snag in February, when some of the parade’s usual time slots for band performances at the legislature were inadvertently given away. Bands have had select times there for pre-parade concerts for at least 40 years.

A solution was found by combining the remaining times at the legislature with performances at the Inner Harbour and in two other venues.

One show, at 11 a.m. today, will take place at the Cameron Bandshell in Beacon Hill Park.

The lower courtyard in front of the Royal B.C. Museum was used for a performance on Saturday. “The museum really stepped up,” Kurta said.

Band performances start at the Parliament Buildings at 10 a.m. today, and continue there or at the Inner Harbour until after 7 p.m.

The forecast Monday is a for a 30 per cent chance of showers.

“It’s going to be a good time,” Kurta said. “Great weather, fingers crossed.”

CHEK TV will be televising the parade live starting at 9 a.m.

 

Today's band programs

Legislature

10 a.m. — Sultan Jazz and Show Choir

11a.m. — Wenatchee High School

12:15 p.m. — Shorewood High School

1 p.m. — Kingston Jazz Power

2 p.m. — Parade of bands featuring Kingston, Bellevue, Chimacum, Hoquiam, Mt. Baker, South Kitsap, Burnaby North, West Seattle, Sultan, Kentlake, Olympic, Aberdeen, Klamath Falls, Wenatchee, MEI and Shorewood

3:30 p.m. — Drum off featuring the University of Washington Husky Drum Line

5 p.m. — Olympic High School

6 p.m. — Sultan High School Pep Band

Cameron Bandshell

(Beacon Hill Park)

11 a.m. — Kentridge High School

Inner Harbour

12 p.m. — West Seattle Orchestra and Pep Band

4:30 p.m. — University of Washington Husky Drum Line (time permitting)

5:30 p.m. — Kentlake High School

6:30 p.m. — Mt. Baker Jazz Band

jwbell@timescolonist.com