A parade and a party
Even weather can’t chill Lunar New Year parade fans
A participant at the 46th annual chinatown spring festival parade sunday in vancouver. the event featured lion dances, cultural dance troupes, marching bands and martial arts performances to mark the lunar new year.
The snow held off just long enough Sunday for the 46th annual Vancouver Chinese New Year parade to not resemble a Santa Claus parade.
A crowd of about 50,000 braved -2C temperatures to watch the 21/2-hour procession of 3,000 marchers representing 70 entries, from dragons and lion dancers to bands, including two pipeand-drum units.
The parade set off at 11 a.m. at Millennium Gate to the sound of a train of firecrackers pulled behind the lead truck.
Half the marchers had reached the finish at Abbot and Keefer streets when the final entry, the Canadian Alliance of Chinese Associations, representing 45 B.C.based Chinese organizations, set off at the start as the final entry at 12:45 p.m.
Children were everywhere with their parents, bundled up and lining the sidewalks to ooh-and-aah at the colourful dragons, lion dancers, traditional costumes and, yes, the firecrackers.
“I love it,” 11-year-old Carrie Widdowson of Maple Ridge said, standing with her younger sister and mom, taking in their first Lunar New Year parade. “I don’t like it cold, but the costumes are awesome. I wish I could dress up like that.”
Added seven-year-old Josh Clarkson of Vancouver: “The firecrackers are cool.”
Kids also relished the candies inside the red envelopes handed out by dignitaries, politicians and Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer.
“Vancouver is one of the most diverse cities in the world and the Vancouver Police Department is so diverse, too,” the chief said. “Community engagement is abigpartofwhatwedo.
“When we take our uniforms off, we’re just like everyone else.”
Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart marched, as did federal cabinet minister Jody Wilson-Raybould; MP and new dad Terry Beech (Burnaby North-Seymour); and MLAs.
Federal NDP Leader and Burnaby South byelection candidate Jagmeet Singh was also on hand.
After leaving Millennium Gate and heading down East Pender, the parade turned onto Gore and then onto Keefer streets. No one seemed to complain too much about the cold, a couple of onlookers were even wearing shorts.
“You know what,” Paul Bray, leader of a six-person team playing percussion instruments from around the world, said laughing, “this is the driest (Chinese New Year’s) parade I’ve been in, that’s what we were really worried about.
“I’ve marched in rain, in sleet. This is a walk in the park.”
Said Raymond Lu, a member of the North American Chinese Lion Dance Team, taking part in his fifth Chinese New Year’s parade: “The weather doesn’t affect us, rain or shine.
“I prefer this to the rain,” Lu added as the first flakes of the coming flurry began to fall.
People came from all over the Lower Mainland and, going by the number of languages being spoken, a lot of tourists were in attendance as well.
“I don’t know if we’ll ever get to China,” Abbotsford’s Arlen Groeneweg, standing with his wife Vanessa, threeyear-old son Jacob and 11-month-old daughter Anna, said. “It’s cool to see this all right here.”
I don’t know if we’ll ever get to China. It’s cool to see all this right here.”
Arlen Groeneweg