Canada Day--Pt 1

Canada Day is similar to the U.S. Fourth of July with celebrations throughout the country.
Canmore's Canada Day parade started like any small town celebration anywhere...


Kids and hats and dogs and lawn  chairs and.....

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police--well, some things are strictly Canadian.

There were bag pipes...

and roller derby queens,

Mascots

and neighbors...

Lots of First Nation's representatives in wonderful dress..

High School bands galore...

And it was a hot day.  I always feel sorry for these guys in their heavy uniforms.

The Canmore Nordic Ski Center on the edge of Canmore is a huge draw for the town, in both winter and summer.


This town is centered on every sport imaginable...Hmm, roller skates on a surfboard and driven with a paddle.

And of course, the following week is the Calgary Stampede. 

This little gal was having a great day..

The Scottish influence in Canmore is apparent everywhere...


Hence, another very enthusiastic group of bagpipers.

Lots of dogs--and many of them looked like they came right off the sled team.

 

Please note the background at the end of Main Street.

I love when the drums get so loud the vibration tickles my tummy...


Followed by this group who were so into their music it was hard not to dash out and join the parade.

Potatoes are a big crop for Alberta so there were lots of free chips...

Ron loved the rescue dogs and almost adopted one on the spot. That would have been fun going through customs.


If I could have done the parade on one of these I would have joined up.  What fun those Segways are.

The clowns were there...


and cowgirls and horses....


But the crowd went crazy at the end of the parade when all the volunteers and the clean up crews came through.


There were cheers and tears and a few kisses from the crowd.


But these guys deserved every accolade.


As the last vehicle disappeared down the street the crowds vanished as well.  We heard there was more entertainment at the park so we started walking in that direction but we could still hear bagpipes playing somewhere nearby....


As we rounded a corner, there they were...One of the bands still playing as though a crowd was nearby.  Boy, these guys are dedicated.