A family tradition
Gold Cup Parade day is as much about getting together as it is about entertainment
Wilma Chandler remembers wheeling her children in a baby carriage to the first Gold Cup Parade in 1962.
The family hasn’t missed a parade since then.
In the early days, their favourite spot to watch was on Euston Street, but the family now knows to gather across from the Holman Grand Hotel on Grafton Street, where the show always tends to be at its best, in front of the judges viewing stand.
“The whole family knows this is where you meet,’’ Chandler said as the 56th annual parade began crawling past her on Friday morning.
It’s a statement a lot of Islanders could make and something that would likely make founding fathers Frank “Duck’’ Acorn and Bill Hancox proud. They created the parade in an effort to revive Old Home Week, which had started to lose its appeal to folks around 1960.
It was also created to focus attention on the Island’s harness racing industry, while providing an exciting type of entertainment for both Islanders and summer visitors.
Friday was picture perfect for a parade. There were just a few clouds in the sky, and temperatures were warm but not too hot.
The parade included all the usual favourites – marching bands, giant inflatables, the Gold Cup Ambassadors, the Royal Canadian Legion’s colour party, clowns and loads of lights and sirens. There was also some rock music on board the Upstreet Brewery float while the Lone Cry Singers pounded away at the drum on the Mi’kmaq Confederacy of P.E.I. float.
There were a total of 101 entries with about 50 to 55 floats to entertain the thousands of people who lined the parade route.
For many families, including Chandler’s, the Gold Cup Parade is about more than just the approximately 90 minutes it takes for the entries to pass by.
They turn it into an entire family day.
“We get together every Friday night. You never know who’s going to be there,’’ Chandler said, referring to parade Fridays.
And, in a reference to the apartment building she lives in, the family gathering also has a name: “We call it Friday at Ferndale.’’
The Chandler family has a strong connection to the parade as well. Wilma’s son, Bill, chaired the parade committee for years. Now, Bill hosts the pre-Ferndale gathering.
“After this parade is over we go to Bill’s for lunch and then his group comes later for the
afternoon and evening. That’s the group that he had working for him when he did the parade.’’
Stu MacFadyen, the city’s former deputy mayor, also recalls the first parade and how much the city needed a boost at the time.
“We were so lucky,’’ MacFadyen said. “Duck Acorn was the one that made a change when the races were going on and then there was this gentleman by the name of Bill Hancock.
“We were so blessed to have had those two come forward and say, ‘We need to do things’.’’ Like Chandler, MacFadyen watches the parade every year with his extended family. MacFadyen said the Gold Cup Parade has made Charlottetown a better city and an extra reason for visitors to come.
He said there wasn’t much to the 1962 edition, especially compared to what people enjoyed in 2017. “Having a parade like this means a lot (to people). There’s nothing like the Charlottetown parade.’’