The August Boat Regalia at Lac La Nonne on Saturday featured about 20 vessel with themes as varied as witchcraft, piracy and firefighting.
The August Boat Regalia at Lac La Nonne on Saturday featured about 20 vessel with themes as varied as witchcraft, piracy and firefighting. The Barrhead Leader accompanied the cowboys and cowgirls of The Big Bamboo for a parade which has become a glorious tradition for families living along the lake's shores.
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For a while it looked like we had the lake to ourselves.
The Big Bamboo edged away from the Downeys' dock shortly after 10 a.m. on Saturday, its imitation wagon wheels and black steeds reflected like an impressionist painting on the glassy surface.
Yee haw. This floating stagecoach headed into a waterscape as empty, broad and beguiling as the rugged terrain that must have greeted Alberta's early ranchers.
Even the blue cellophane roll of the sky and the unhindered sun on our straw hats added to the cowboy imagery.
"It would be funny if we had got the wrong day," said Lynn Downey, seated atop the boat, reins in her hands.
"A parade of one," someone replied. "We are bound to win."
Everyone laughed, maybe a little anxiously. A mental check: August 18? Yes. Day of the Lac La Nonne regalia? Yes. There was no doubt … unless, unless there had been a last-minute change of date.
Could Alberta Health Services' Friday warning about blue-green algae in Lac La Nonne have poisoned regalia plans? Surely not. It would have been an unthinkable overreaction.
Attention then mercifully switched to a bald eagle perched majestically on a treetop near the shore. Perhaps sensing our approach it suddenly took off, flaunting its huge wingspan for those with a camera handy.
By now another matter was also requiring attention: retrieving wayward stetsons from the water. The further you got from shore, the gustier it became, and the more flimsy those hats appeared.
Twice Lynn's uncomplaining husband Vince had to steer the pontoon back; it was just as well this wasn't a race.
Chin straps were fastened and even afterwards an occasional hand had to be clasped to the top of your head. For a while I wore a tight-fitting baseball cap, until I realized I was spoiling the cowboy theme.
After all, this was a contest of sorts, even if the prize was little more than bragging rights over your neighbour. Each boat was to be judged on appearance – and by now it was clear we had competition.
Creeping up like a ghost ship, a group of hillbillies materialized, playing air guitar, wearing suspenders and swigging drink from giant flagons.
"Great, there are two of us now," came the cry. "Guaranteed at least second place."
But then another pontoon appeared behind, as if emerging from the depths of the lake. And another. And another.
Suddenly we were surrounded: there were a coven of witches; pirates with their skull and crossbones flag; Irishmen wearing St. Patrick's Day hats in a mass of green, white and orange balloons; Hawaiian hula girls in a tiki bar; and children on a boat-pulled raft waving the sign "We Eh Canadian."
Some vessels bore themes which were – dare I say it – less identifiable. Not that it mattered, this was a day to enjoy camaraderie and water which often stretched before you like a richly bejewelled carpet.
The Big Bamboo crew of Lynn and Vince Downey, Holly and Norm Hachey, Claudette and Brian McLean and Jerry Urlacher (and the Leader reporter) always delivered a noisy fanfare of a welcome – plenty of hee haws, howdies, squeezing of horns and thumping tambourines.
All the hullabaloo, however, was no defence against one vessel's signature greeting.
The Fire Control sprayed their hellos wherever they went – courtesy of a hose. Nobody was safe from a dousing, not even those sunning themselves on loungers on the shore or quietly watching.
Occasionally the crew – dressed, of course, as Dalmatians – threw a few water bombs for good measure.
One imagines it is a party trick you can play only once or twice. Next year, others will surely be prepared. 2013: the year of the water wars!
And so the parade drifted to an end: it had gone from Mission NW to Killdeer, across to Moonlight Bay, north to Greendale then on to Elks Beach and Willowbend and back.
After the big show, boaters went to nearby Klondike Park for ice cream, hotdogs, drinks and post-parade banter.
Lac La Nonne Enhancement and Protection Association treasurer Harvey Thompson was delighted at the way the day had gone.
"It was a pretty good turnout," he said. "The whole idea is to have fun and enjoy a day out on the lake."
Lac La Nonne, 11.8 square metres and at times 66 feet deep, may divide its glories between the counties of Barrhead and Lac Ste. Anne, but on Saturday it was again a symbol of unity.
"We are like one big family," said Vince about the lucky people who wake up each day to the lake. "We all know each other."
No wonder Lac La Nonne residents like to refer to "our little paradise."
Oh yes, for the record, parade prizes were awarded to the witches, children on a raft, the Hawaiian-themed boat and Fire Control.
