Grey Cup Parade

Growing up in Newfoundland the CFL seemed like a myth.  Of course I'd heard the existed but I'd never actually met anyone who supported a team or seemed to care about it in the least.

Things didn't get much better in any of the other cities I've lived in in Canada.  I guess I knew that the BC Lions existed while I lived in Vancouver though they didn't seem to be as significant a sporting venture as the Canucks - who just happened to be having a particularly good season the year we lived there.

In Montreal I eventually learned that I'd lived about a block a way from the stadium in which the Alouettes played.  While I lived there I had no idea where the Alouettes played.

The impending arrival of the then unnamed Ottawa franchise seemed to be of little consequence to the locals.  I can't recall even a single person I spoke to expressing either interest or disgust at the thought of there being a team there.  It just didn't seem to rate in the face of the LRT talks or Senators trade speculation.

Of course, in Nova Scotia, though there is university football, the CFL seems as distant to life as it did in Newfoundland.  It just wasn't on anyone's radar.

When we arrived in Regina last year we immediately got to see that the CFL certainly does have a fan base, and it seems to be based in Saskatchewan.

You can't go out in Regina without encountering people wearing Riders gear.  Hats and jackets are probably the most common forms of attire, but mitts, scarves, and jewellery aren't uncommon.  And lets not forget the provincially issued Riders license plates.

This overwhelming level of support means that even when it's -21 (or -33 when the wind chill is taken into account) fans done up to the max will be in attendance for a Saturday morning Grey Cup Parade.

The parade route was lined with people of all ages.  We saw dozens of strollers and more adults in snow pants than I've ever seen anywhere else.  There were also quite a number of cars with handicap parking badges parked in intersections facing the parade route.  I think it's fair to say that those in attendance were a pretty representative cross section of the Regina population.



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And though it took a while to get to us, we did eventually to get to see the horse-drawn championship trophy.

If anyone had asked me as a child if I would one day stand in frost-bite capable weather for over an hour to see any of this I likely would have laughed (or the very shy child equivalent of public laughing).  Apparently, spending a year in Regina has a strange effect on people.

Our trip to Cole Harbour

As I mentioned early this morning, yesterday Neil and I decided to try to head to Cole Harbour to see the Stanley Cup parade with Sidney Crosby.

Neil was particularly keen on taking the free shuttle to the event so that we would have a bit more of the crowd experience. We decided to take the shuttle from the Mic Mac Mall, though there was at least one more option. As we arrived at the mall on the bus it was clear that there were hundreds of people already waiting in line to get the shuttle to Cole Harbour.

Instead of joining the line immediately Neil wanted to head into the mall to get some food. After picking up a smoothie for Neil and a six-pack of cinnamon buns we were ready to join the line.

Amazingly, the line seemed to be moving relatively quickly even though there were rather significant gaps between the shuttle buses. This process was partly facilitated by those individuals who decided not to stick it out in the line any longer and either bailed completely or decided to try to get to Cole Harbour by other means.

After about 45 minutes we were finally able to board a bus. We lucked out and were the third and fourth last people on the bus. Not only did this allow us to get some information from the driver, it also meant that we were the third and fourth people off of the bus when we finally reached Cole Harbour.

Soon after we were let off of the bus we figured out that we hadn't yet missed the parade and that there were thousands and thousands of people still waiting to see Crosby and the Cup. The number of people gathered by the stage was particularly impressive. This shot shows just the people hanging out in the family fun area, which was quite small compared to the stage area.



Though these crowds were a little worrying, things started to calm down as we made our way along the parade route. Eventually we settled at a location that was likely about half-way along the route. After a few initial vehicles came a yellow sports car carrying Maxime Talbot and what I believe we were told was the divisional cup. As he approached our location a media crew ran out to conduct an interview, completely blocking our view. I am still a little shocked that they didn't just get the interview at the end of the parade.



Not to long after Talbot passed we could see Sidney Crosby and the Cup making their way towards us on a fire truck. As they were the end of the parade the crowd was following behind them and gradually growing as it passed people. While we had a pretty good view of the Cup and Crosby I think I probably spent most of my energy photographing the event so that I would have something to post here.



We even managed to snag a little video footage of the event.



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Instead of following the Cup and Crosby back to the crowded stage area and the Cup hoisting Neil and I decided to make our way to the bus terminal at the other end of town. The idea of hanging out for another three hours in Cole Harbour to catch the free shuttle didn't seem particularly appealing. While we made our way back we had the pleasure of stopping at Chris Brothers deli and meat shop. If only we had been driving we would have picked pounds and pounds of reasonably priced meat products. As we were walking and taking the bus we decided not to take the risk of having the meat go bad on the way home.

Something that we noticed as we were making our way to the transit terminal is that a number of business were offering Crosby themed specials. This one, like a few others, was a play on Crosby's number.



Much to my surprise, we were two of the five people on the bus from Cole Harbour to Halifax. Before long we were back on Barrington and catching a local bus the rest of the way.

Canada Day fail

This morning, shortly after I awoke, I was checking my email and listening to the CBC radio news. The newsreader suggested that the Canada Day parade was fully assembled on Sackville Street and just about ready to start.

While I am not normally much of a parade or Canada Day person I got the impression that this parade was somehow connected to the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo, which suggested to me that there were likely to be a few pipe bands. Given the likely presence of pipe bands I decided to see if I could find the parade route.

Before heading out I thought that I should probably try to find the parade's route so that I wouldn't waste too much time poking around downtown. A quick search brought me to Halifax's official Canada Day celebrations page, which then refered me to the Tattoo website for the parade route. Of course, the Tattoo website is just about useless and doesn't make this information particularly accessible. Even after a quick search of the site I was not able to find the route map. Fortunately, I did manage to find a schedule of the free events, most of which are taking place on or near Spring Garden. I will be sure to check out the Paris Police Gymnastics Team show tomorrow afternoon at 12:30 on Doyle Street (this document has a copy of the parade route, though I didn't see it the first time I looked at the document). For those of you in the Halifax area that are interested, the schedule can be found here.

Getting back to my original goal, the parade, I eventually made my way out without much knowledge of the parade route. Not too long into my journey I started to see a steady stream of parade types making their way out of the downtown core. I decided to head to their source, hoping to catch the last few minutes of the action.

By the time I reached the Metro Centre is was clear that the parade was over and that the parades participants were starting to disperse. The other thing that was clear is that they definitely had a number of pipers and associated performers.

I guess now that I have the schedule of free events, many of which are pipes related, I shouldn't be to upset about missing the parade.

Actually, all of the pipes and kilts reminded me that I really don't like all this state sponsored faux-Scottish stuff that goes on in Nova Scotia. It strikes me as incredibly insincere, a giant put-on, so to speak. I find it strange that for most of the year I see no kilts, but as soon as tourist season rolls around the streets are filled with kilts and pipes. I think what I find most frustrating about this is that I am not sure I have seen an actual Scot participate in any of these events (unlike the Scottish events that take place in St. John's). I guess I just find it strange and frustrating that such much time and effort is spent trying to imitate another country's culture instead of acknowledging Nova Scotia's own culture and achievements.

To get back to the narrative, soon after I realized that I wasn't going to see any of the parade I decided to walk back along the waterfront. As today is remarkably overcast, not too many of the parade observers decided to make the same decision. As I was approaching the harbour front walk I noticed that people seemed to be making their way behind the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, which indicated that a major section of the wharf had been re-opened to the public. Unfortunately, as I made my way along the route towards the Pier 21 end of things I learned that the other section that has been closed for months is still closed. I would have thought that they would have had this section open by now as we are definitely in the midst of tourist season, and this is a key part of the downtown tourism infrastructure. Maybe they will get it open by August or September, in time for dying breaths of this year's tourist season.

Hopefully I have better luck with the free shows I mentioned earlier than I did with the parade.

I guess I should start getting mentally prepared for this afternoon's Math grad student's Canada Day barbacue.