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This year for Canada Day I was riding in style! Being in Richmond for this year’s celebrations, I was invited to be part of the Steveston Salmon Festival Parade with Christine Nesbitt. Christine and I were part of the Spirit of BC float that had some of Richmond’s own past Olympians, so not only was that an experience in itself, but we were also driving in a new Mercedes SLK convertible. 

If there’s one thing that stood out for me today it was simply the number of people that lined the parade route and filled the park. When I spoke with Ed Gavsie from Tourism Richmond a few weeks back, he had mentioned that there would be up to 70 thousand people out for the day but until I was able to roll down the parade route myself, “70 thousand” was nothing more than a number. From people just out enjoying the weather to families all decked out head to toe in red and white, everyone was having a great time! 

This little guy in the picture below stood out in the crowd with his cool hat and little lawn chair. He was a little shy in front of the camera but it was a picture I couldn’t miss!

Since our parade car only had two seats, Christine and I took turns riding in and walking alongside the car. The car was nice and all but it sure didn’t compare to walking alongside the crowd saying hi to random people and giving out those small Canada flags and tattoos to the kids. I think Christine would agree since there were numerous times when she was falling behind the parade’s pace. The best thing was that it didn’t matter if we were in the car or walking alongside it because all it took was a quick wave and the kids were cheering at the top of their lungs. 

After the parade was over, Christine and I got to meet and chat with a few of Richmond’s own past Olympians. Shirley (Gordon) Olafson and Alice (Whitty) Simicak are in the vehicle and Ann (Covel) Cliff and Jeanne (Warren) Jensen are standing behind the car in the picture below. Between track and field and swimming, the ladies competed in the Summer Olympics ranging from 1948 to 1968. Shirley even had her torch that she carried in Beijing last year being one of Canada’s ten representatives in the torch relay. It was pretty cool!

Before my day was done at the festival, it wouldn’t have been just if I didn’t check out the famous salmon barbeque that was clearly one of the main attractions for the festival – rather fitting I’d say! Over a thousand pounds of fresh salmon is barbequed over an alder wood fire each year. It’s no wonder they sell out of salmon every year after seeing the line wrap around the corner of the fenced off area where the two pits were cooking the salmon to perfection. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to try some salmon myself so it looks like I’ll have to try making it back next year.