A colourful parade through downtown Yellowknife on July 1 returns this year for the first time since 2019.
The Rotary Community Parade on Canada Day will have a new starting point and be preceded for the first time by a foot race featuring local runners. The Canada Day Mile will lead off the parade, clearing the way for a loud and bright procession of decorated floats, pipe band, colour party, local dignitaries, marchers, bicyclists, classic cars and emergency vehicles, including the airport’s impressive new Oshkosh Striker 6×6 ARFF.
Another first is having the parade start from in front of City Hall on 49 Avenue, proceed down 48 Street and then head south along Franklin Avenue to the Community Arena. Registration is now open for community groups, non-profits, cultural and Indigenous organizations, classic car owners and anyone who wants to participate in a fun way to help our community enjoy some family oriented entertainment.
The 2020 parade had to be cancelled due to the outbreak of the coronavirus. As for the 2021 parade, the prior discovery of 215 graves of children on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School had community members in grief and mourning, so it was decided to call off the event.
While Canada Day is celebrated as the birthday of our country, there are other reasons to hold a parade. The mission of Rotary International is, in part, to ‘advance world
understanding, goodwill and peace.’
More information on the race will be found on the Yellowknife Running Group’s Facebook page. More info on the parade can now be found at the Rotary Club of Yellowknife’s website.
