Sun shines on May Days
Rutland’s 58th annual celebration kicks off summer with parade, rides, live entertainment, food and much more
The Rutland May Days parade is not only the place to see colourful floats and fancy cars while collecting as much candy as possible, it is also the place to see old friends and connect with people you haven’t seen in awhile.
“Our neighbours are here, we brought our dog, it’s just wonderful,” said Cindy Lovell, a Rutland resident who has been coming to the parade with her family for more than 10 years.
“Everyone stops and chats and laughs. I love the small-town community vibe. Every year we come and stake out our chairs a half hour early so we can have a spot.”
The City of Kelowna’s iconic Ogopogo float, which was refurbished last year, made its first May Days appearance on Saturday.
Instead of the classic green, Ogopogo is now blue and its face has more of a traditional First Nations esthetic.
At the back of the float is a large yellow Okanagan sunflower, and the sides of the float fold out to spell Kelowna in white letters.
“We wanted to represent Kelowna as much as possible and go back to a little bit of a retro look, especially with Ogopogo,” said Clarence Johnson, parade float ambassador with the City of Kelowna.
The local Girl Guides had one of the more elaborate floats, with an entire camping scene on the back of a trailer, including a tent, a campfire and a kayak.
“We wanted to depict camping and the outdoors,” said Luci Wilcox, Girl Guides leader. “We do a lot of work in the community, and this is just to let people know we are here.”
Many of the parade floats caught onlookers’ attention with bright balloons or crazy costumes, but Tidy Tushees turned heads with their sky high pile of diapers.
“We have about 1,500 diapers, and that represents six months of disposable diapers that would go into the landfill,” said Tyler Jaeger, owner of Tidy Tushees. “This shows just how much waste is created from disposable diapers.”
Tidy Tushees provides cloth diapers to parents, then picks them up and washes them.
The 58th annual Rutland May Days continues today at Rutland Centennial Park with live entertainment, amusement park rides, food trucks and more.
“After this long cold spring, it’s the perfect kickoff to summer,” said Wendy Swarbrick, treasurer for the Rutland Park Society. “May Days is a big thing for Rutland, and we work really hard to keep it alive. I’m super thrilled with the way it’s going.”
Swarbrick said she is expecting about 15,000 people to attend May Days this weekend.