ATHABASCA – The countdown to Canada Day is underway with just over a month to go and once again, COVID-19 gathering restrictions may put a bit of a damper on the annual festivities, but everyone still loves a parade, whether it’s forward or reversed.
July 1 in Athabasca will look very similar to Canada Day 2020 with a reverse parade taking place in the morning, and a socially-distanced, drive-in fireworks display taking over the town at Riverfront Park at dusk.
At the May 18 regular meeting, Athabasca town council reviewed a request from the Athabasca & District Chamber of Commerce to approve the route for the reverse parade, which will run from 10:30 to 11 a.m., subject to Alberta Health regulations and the approval of Alberta Transportation, which was expected to come after the town approved the route.
The reverse parade, which sees storefront businesses along the route get dressed up for the Canada Day celebrations, instead of floats, while the spectators that would usually line the streets for a normal parade, drive the route in their own vehicles instead.
“We are excited to do this one more time, last year was a success, and I’m sure this year will be even greater,” said chamber of commerce director Rick Baksza in a note to CAO Rachel Ramey.
Participants will line up between the Petro Canada cardlock and Tipton’s Independent Grocer before heading east down 50th Ave. (Highway 55), south on 49th St., west on 49th Ave., north on 50th St. (Highway 2), and then west on 50th Ave. back to the cardlock.
“I did it last year and I thought, ‘Well I'm going to spend 20 minutes of my life driving around,’ but it was actually a lot of fun to drive on the wrong side of the road, which in itself was a bit of a thrill. So, it was more enjoyable than I actually thought it would be, so I'm glad they're doing it again,” said mayor Colleen Powell.
Council passed one motion to approve the parade route and to direct the public works department to assist with road closures and flagging. A second motion to support the chamber of commerce’s fireworks display as a drive-in event was also passed.
With the cancellation of the Mighty River Rats Festival, council also passed a third motion to reallocate $5,000 that was earmarked for the event and donate it to the chamber of commerce Canada Day fireworks. It is the second year in a row the festival has been cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions, and the second year in a row the town has reallocated its contribution to the fireworks display.
