“The parade was a brilliant spectacle, superior in all its details to anything of the kind ever seen here.”
Vancouver World, September 1900.
Plaque
From Vancouver’s earliest years, Hastings Street has been the venue for thousands of people to come downtown and watch the elaborate processions and spectacle of the parade. Vancouverites young and old have gathered for hours to catch a glimpse of the decorated floats, wagons, vehicles, marching bands, and performers of the Grey Cup Championship parades and the annual Labour Day and P.N.E. parades. Vancouver has welcomed kings, queens, emperors and presidents. Whether it was for the opening of a new baseball stadium, to see cowboys, circus elephants or the Governor General, Hastings Street has been at the centre of it all.
“The parade was a brilliant spectacle, superior in all its details to anything of the kind ever seen here.”
Vancouver World, September 1900.
Sponsored by Hastings West.
History
From Vancouver’s earliest years, parades have marked major events and Vancouverites young and old have come out in droves to catch a glimpse of the decorated floats, wagons, vehicles, marching bands, military and fire brigades, and the occasional exotic animal. Here’s a look at some of the most significant parades in Vancouver’s history.
Labour Day Parade Labour Day parades flourished until the turn of the twentieth century. “They expressed the class identity of Vancouver’s working people, and were a direct outgrowth of the emergence of a city-wide labour council in 1889,” writes historian Robert McDonald. “The parade of 1899, described as the largest in the province to that date, featured six floats on which craftsmen presented working demonstrations of their skill.”
Dominion Day Parades In contrast, early Dominion Day parades featured leading citizens and emphasized ties to the Empire, writes McDonald. The Vancouver Sun reported on the 1925 parade, which drew an estimated 30,000 visitors to the city. The parade had 281 entries and 2,000 participants, including 18 bands:
“With a pep and a grace that registered a glad surprise on the hearts of her residents and international visitors, Vancouver rose to the occasion of Dominion Day yesterday and flung herself into the holiday festivities with whole-hearted enthusiasm… Vancouver residents realised that the old zip and zest for community merrymaking had returned to their city, after several years of only half-hearted interest in public festivities, and they turned to with eager good will to support her in all she undertook… On the float were men and women representing Jack Canuck, Miss Canada, Miss B.C., and all the provinces. In front was a symbol representing a fire, with the spreading flames of national spirit. Then there was a pole with the Canadian ensign at the top and below a figure holding a blank flag representing a flag in the making… Waving Canadian flags and seated in the big ship S.S. Canada, two score Canadian-born Japanese children in jack tar suits proclaimed their loyalty to the land of their birth… The parade, which they staged was, for a city the size of Vancouver, a marvel to the dozens of American and other visitors with whom I have spoken today. It was a wonderful show…Today has been like ‘the good old days’ of 25 years ago when Vancouver as one man would rise to the support of a community effort.”
PNE Parade For six decades, the PNE parade, which ran from 1935-1995, was one of the biggest events in town. Mac Reyonds, a journalist for the Vancouver Sun described the PNE’s 1955 parade in which a record-breaking 250,000 people attended:
“Under a pale sun that strained through the clouds for attention, the record crowd lined the four and-a-half-mile parade route 12 deep, jammed curbs and climbed ladders and balanced on neon signs… There was a freshness to the parade as well as color and bigness and noise and floats and bands and marchers and clowns. There were flower peacocks, little boys in Indian turbans, mobile rock gardens, Calypso singers beating on oil drums, pastel colored toy trains, glockenspiels, Great Danes, silver helmets and saxophones.”
Pride Parade The biggest parade in Vancouver today is the Gay Pride Parade – the largest of its kind in Western Canada. In 2016, the event attracted over 650,000 people, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The first pride parade took place in 1978, when participants marched on the sidewalk from the Nelson Park festival site down Thurlow Street to Sunset Beach Park (see Davie Street Village).
Sources
Robert McDonald. Making Vancouver: Class, status, and social boundaries, 1863-1913. UBC Press, 1996.
Lisa Smedman. “Dominion Day parade of 1925 an affair to remember.” Vancouver Courier. May 8, 2009.
John Mackie. “This day in history: August 23, 1955.” Vancouver Sun. Aug 23, 2013.
Media & Photos
Soldiers assembled for Dominion Day parade at Cordova Street and Abbott Street, July 1, 1887. LGN 458.
A Labour Day parade travelling east on Cordova Street at Cambie Street in 1891. Str P337.
Labour Day Parade in 1898. Hastings Mill was the nucleus around which Vancouver grew up and was always part of every civic celebration. In this photo, men and women in their finery watch as horse-drawn wagons exit the mill and head south on Dunlevy. CVA Street P243.
Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York on parade. September 30, 1901. CVA 677-983.
View of Dominion Day military parade on Granville Street from the Hotel Vancouver, 1900. City of Vancouver Archives, Mil P30.
People observing parade at Hastings and Richards Streets, 190? CVA 677-612.
Parade of elephants on Granville Street, 190? CVA 677-1011.
"B.C. Coast Indians in parade for the first visit of Earl Grey, Governor General." 1906. City of Vancouver Archives, In P120.2.
Cordova Street in its Prime July 1st 1904 Naval Parade. CVA 1376-719.
City of Vancouver's Sewer System Float in Parade, 1912. CVA 142-1.
A parade of horse-drawn carriages on the north side of the Unit Block of West Hastings Street for visit of Duke and Duchess of Connaught, 1912. CVA 458-5.
A parade on Hastings Street in June 1914. City of Vancouver Archives, Fl P5.4.
C.P. Exhibition Parade - Vancouver Juvenile Band, in 1935. CVA 99 - 3148.
Vancouver Exhibition Parade, Dunbar Heights and West Point Grey, 1936. CVA 612-268.
View of 1947 P.N.E. Opening Day Parade route along Hastings St. CVA 180-1328.
43rd Grey Cup Parade, on Granville Street British Columbia Telephone Company float and spectators, 1955. City of Vancouver Archives, 2008-022.255.
1956 PNE Parade on East Hastings Street - August 22, 1956. City of Vancouver Archives, 2010-006.167.
1960 PNE Parade, on East Hastings and Jackson, women on Chevrolet automobile. City of Vancouver Archives, 2008-022.145.
1960 PNE Parade, on East Hastings and Jackson, Dal Richards Orchestra and spectators. City of Vancouver Archives, 2008-022.137.
48th Grey Cup Parade, on Georgia and Howe in 1960. City of Vancouver Archives, 2008-022.156.
Grey Cup '63 : Woodwards' Quarterback Club float. CVA 180-5095.
1970 PNE Parade. CVA 180-4290.03.
1970 PNE Opening Day Parade. CVA 180-4293.04.
1970 PNE Opening Day Parade. CVA 180-4294.06.
The first Gay pride parade in Vancouver was held in 1981. It started at Nelson Park and terminated at Sunset Beach. Photo courtesy of the BC Gay & Lesbian Archives.
The Vancouver Pride Parade in 2009. Photo by Kyle Pearce.
The Places That Matter plaque presentation.
Swipe to view more Images
Address
802 W. Hastings
SW corner of Howe St and W Hastings St
Coordinates
49.285962492132676, -123.1152333300247
Soldiers assembled for Dominion Day parade at Cordova Street and Abbott Street, July 1, 1887. LGN 458.
A Labour Day parade travelling east on Cordova Street at Cambie Street in 1891. Str P337.
Labour Day Parade in 1898. Hastings Mill was the nucleus around which Vancouver grew up and was always part of every civic celebration. In this photo, men and women in their finery watch as horse-drawn wagons exit the mill and head south on Dunlevy. CVA Street P243.
Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York on parade. September 30, 1901. CVA 677-983.
View of Dominion Day military parade on Granville Street from the Hotel Vancouver, 1900. City of Vancouver Archives, Mil P30.
People observing parade at Hastings and Richards Streets, 190? CVA 677-612.
Parade of elephants on Granville Street, 190? CVA 677-1011.
"B.C. Coast Indians in parade for the first visit of Earl Grey, Governor General." 1906. City of Vancouver Archives, In P120.2.
Cordova Street in its Prime July 1st 1904 Naval Parade. CVA 1376-719.
City of Vancouver's Sewer System Float in Parade, 1912. CVA 142-1.
A parade of horse-drawn carriages on the north side of the Unit Block of West Hastings Street for visit of Duke and Duchess of Connaught, 1912. CVA 458-5.
A parade on Hastings Street in June 1914. City of Vancouver Archives, Fl P5.4.
C.P. Exhibition Parade - Vancouver Juvenile Band, in 1935. CVA 99 - 3148.
Vancouver Exhibition Parade, Dunbar Heights and West Point Grey, 1936. CVA 612-268.
View of 1947 P.N.E. Opening Day Parade route along Hastings St. CVA 180-1328.
43rd Grey Cup Parade, on Granville Street British Columbia Telephone Company float and spectators, 1955. City of Vancouver Archives, 2008-022.255.
1956 PNE Parade on East Hastings Street - August 22, 1956. City of Vancouver Archives, 2010-006.167.
1960 PNE Parade, on East Hastings and Jackson, women on Chevrolet automobile. City of Vancouver Archives, 2008-022.145.
1960 PNE Parade, on East Hastings and Jackson, Dal Richards Orchestra and spectators. City of Vancouver Archives, 2008-022.137.
48th Grey Cup Parade, on Georgia and Howe in 1960. City of Vancouver Archives, 2008-022.156.
Grey Cup '63 : Woodwards' Quarterback Club float. CVA 180-5095.
1970 PNE Parade. CVA 180-4290.03.
1970 PNE Opening Day Parade. CVA 180-4293.04.
1970 PNE Opening Day Parade. CVA 180-4294.06.
The first Gay pride parade in Vancouver was held in 1981. It started at Nelson Park and terminated at Sunset Beach. Photo courtesy of the BC Gay & Lesbian Archives.
The Vancouver Pride Parade in 2009. Photo by Kyle Pearce.
The Places That Matter plaque presentation.
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