Tuesday, July 05, 2011

Canada Day Parade

Okay, so I'm a bit late with this. My mother-in-law was visiting for four nights and I've been a tad busy!

Last Friday, we took her to the Canada Day parade in the nearby small town of Alexandria, Ontario. I can't remember EVER going to a Canada Day parade before, so it was about time!



I liked the hats these boys were wearing, and the patriotic colours in their clothes and shoes:




The parade started with the Ontario Provincial Police. Our neighbour calls their vehicles "Holsteins" (black and white!), and I have started doing that too.



The local pipe band was there, loud and proud! The Glengarry Pipe Band is celebrating their 50th anniversary this year.



The local golf course sent out seniors on golf carts.



I was surreptitiously trying to photograph the muscle man behind Gordon! There was some sort of strongman competition after the parade, and I figured this guy must have been a participant.



Who wouldn't want their septic tank pumped by a truck this clean and shiny?



The lawn tractor brigade. Buddy in the back there kept doing doughnuts.



I'm afraid I laughed my *ss off at this one. It celebrates one of the local retirement homes, known as The Palace/Le Palais. (I believe it is so named because the building used to be owned by the Catholic Archdiocese, and was the Bishop's Palace!) Anyway, the old guy on the mini-bench in the tractor bucket was bad enough, but the candles on either side just put me over the edge. It was all too funereal, right down to reminding me a of a grave-digging backhoe! Whatever happens to me in life, I absolutely cannot end up in an old-age home. I will stick my head in a gas-oven first. Nothing against the Palace; I have sung there with my former choir, and I know they take good care of people, and it's heated to a toasty 90F at all times, but I am determined not to end up in a home.




On a brighter note, we had youths in mini-cars!



Behold this fabulous "heavy incident recovery" truck from Herb's Truck Stop up near Vankleek Hill.



Complete with pretty girl and saucy saying (not to mention a superfluous apostrophe!)



One of our local Apple Hill farmers cruised by on a mini-tractor.



I liked this geezer-mobile.



  Lovely ladies on lovely horses!



And the inexplicable Boston Bruins Stanley Cup float, blaring "We are the Champions!" by Queen. I guess there are a lot of Bruins fans around here. It was hilarious.



Nice old car.


And a Maverick! I drove a crapacious 1974 Maverick for several years. It had one seatbelt and constantly burned oil. It's a miracle I survived my youth. 



My friend Chloe Ann, left, rode one of her beautiful horses!



And some large St. Bernards participated as another dog watched from the sidewalk.




A beautiful old tractor with smiling farmer!



And another O.P.P. car to close out the parade. The Ontario Provincial Police are our local force.


And here's another patriotic doggy:



What a fun day! For photos from another local small-town parade, visit my friend Ronna's blog


7 comments:

  1. Anonymous2:19 pm

    "A smiling farmer". Now that IS quite a sight. At least it around here, where they are always moaning about something or other..."too wet... too dry... too expensive... too cheap... too hot... too cold... too high... too low... etc., etc., etc...." Hope they don't visit here or I'll be in trouble...

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  2. That's a magnificent parade. Bet you, Kate and Will would have much preferred to be part of your parade than the one they were part of in Ottawa, with all the official dignitaries. Kate had a perfect, saucy little red had with maple leaves. I'm dying to buy a replica, and next year, I'll walk in any parade that will want me, my hat and my cane. Vive le Canada!

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  3. Love the Maverick!
    And yeah - the "funeral grave digger" float is creepy!

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  4. Great photos, love the last two of the dog!

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  5. That's fun! Community parades are always slightly silly! I like the Geezer mobile! hee hee. What? no goats?

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  6. Love a small town parade, always have!

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  7. Andrew, the farmers around here strike me as a pretty happy bunch, not that it stops them from complaining about the weather!! But as Canadians, it is in our blood to talk incessantly about the weather.

    Claude, I was appalled that they didn't show up. But I LOVED Kate's maple leaf hat! And you'd be great in a parade.

    Wandering Cat, glad it wasn't just me!

    LBM, he was a real cutie!

    Isobelle, we live in a farming community, so the lack of goats was particularly unforgiveable!

    Vanilla Bean, it was fun and my Torontonian mother-in-law loved it.

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Thank you for all your comments, which I love to read!