MLA Caroline Wawzonek is all decked out for the day as she prepares to bike the parade route. Premier Caroline Cochrane can be seen in the background, and MLA Kevin O'Reilly is on the left..  Photo by James O'Connor
 
The response to the return of a summer community parade last Friday was a clear hit on a sunny summer day.
Many Rotarians, parade entrants and people lining the sidewalks of 48th Street and all the way along Franklin Avenue for the 2022 Rotary Community Parade on Canada Day wore orange shirts in the spirit of healing and reconciliation.
As MLA Caroline Wawzonek told True North FM about what Canada Day means to her: “It’s a day to celebrate some of the shared values that we all have, and I was thinking about it this morning, what a great country where we can disagree strongly, but then come together on a day like this and celebrate the fact that we actually are still in it together. It’s a wonderful feeling.”
 
Popsicles enjoyed by parade fans on 48 Street. Photo by James O'Connor
 
Thousands of people lined Yellowknife's main city street to see everything from a traditional pipe band, to brightly dressed cultural groups, radio controlled cars, decorated vehicles from the business community and the airport's impressive new Oshkosh Striker 6×6 ARFF fire truck. 
 
That's one big, beautiful fire truck The parade was probably the first and only time most Yellowknifers will see it.  Photo by Al Jones
 
Premier Caroline Cochrane, Mayor Rebecca Alty, along with a number of MLAs and city councillors, joined the procession of about 45 entries in the Rotary Community Parade on Canada Day, which also featured four RCMP members walking the route, shaking hands, while wearing their internationally recognized red serge dress uniforms.
 
MLAs Rylund Johnson, Kevin O'Reilly, deputy mayor Stacie Smith, Premier Caroline Cochrane and MLA Caroline Wawzonek. In the background is long-serving Rotarian Muriel Tolley.  Photo by James O'Connor.
 
Kevin O'Reilly and Mayor Rebecca Alty.  Photo by James O'Connor
 
"We had some concerns during the planning stages, mostly with the new route starting downtown, but it all worked out very well in the end," says Austin Marshall, parade committee chair. "It was incredibly rewarding to see so many smiling faces in the bright, warm sunshine. Bringing the community together and promoting goodwill is part of our mandate as Rotarians.
"On behalf of the Rotary Club of Yellowknife, I would like to thank all of the volunteers who helped make the return of the parade a success and also congratulate everyone who were either in the parade, helped as a sponsor, or who just came out to watch the procession pass by."
 
Parade marshall Austin Marshall readies the troops before 10 a.m. on parade day.  Photo by Al Jones
 
The dog-leg turn on 49 Avenue presented some logistical issues for organizers. The front of the parade is way down by that square, silver building, a.k.a. the Yellowknife Courthouse, It was the first time the parade had run on a route starting downtown.  Photo by Al Jones
 
Apart from some line-of-sight issues while marshalling the participants on the 'dog-leg' curve of 49th Street, there were no major problems with the event, says Marshall, who appropriately also was the parade's marshall.
"Well, maybe one other issue," says James O'Connor, public relations director, who towed the Club's float with his red Hummer, with incoming Club president Robert Crouch in the passenger set. "Our new Rotary Wheel inflatable on a flatbed trailer kept wanting to become a kite, as winds repeatedly snapp guy wires while I was driving to the parade. That will require some re-engineering for next year."
 
The YK Club's parade entry. James O'Connor is at the wheel of his truck, pulling a flatbed trailer generously provided by Yellowknife Motors.  Photo by Celistino Oh
 
 
A panel of three non-Rotarians judged the entries, with the following results:
 
•    Best entertainment: Bella Dance Academy
 
•    Best community group: Yellowknife Southern Cameroon Cultural Association
 
•    Best local business: Yellowknife Co-op
 
•    Judge’s choice: Radio Control Enthusiasts of Yellowknife
Four photos above by Al Jones
 
The YK Club will provide public acknowledgement of those winners and our valued parade sponsors in Friday, July 8 Weekend Yellowknifer.
"The parade in 2020 had to be cancelled due to gathering limits surrounding the pandemic and last year, we stood with our Indigenous neighbours, who were grieving after the discovery of 215 graves of children on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School," said Marshall, in the first media release for the 2022 parade in May.
"The parade is held on Canada Day, yes, but it can be more than just a birthday party for our country as it has historically been considered. The mission of Rotary International is, in part, to 'advance world understanding, goodwill and peace,' so we hope events in the city on July 1 can celebrate all members of our community as we move forward in the spirit of reconciliation."
 
Here are some photos from the day, from Rotarians Al Jones, James O'Connor and Chuck Tolley: