Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Easter Parade ~ Vintage Car Club ~ Kamloops, BC

Easter Sunday would not be complete without the Easter Day Parade with the vintage vehicles and Easter bonnets in Kamloops.  We had a perfect day for that to celebrate the parade’s 40th anniversary.  The Kamloops chapter of the Vintage Car Club of Canada held it’s first Easter parade in 1972 and has been doing it ever since.

1953 Bentley in Easter Parade in Kamloops, BC
We arrived in Riverside Park in downtown Kamloops by the Thompson Rivers just as the parade of vintage vehicles were driving down the tree lined roadway to gather in front of the bandshell for all to see.  This 1953 Bentley is a beautiful example of some that were about to gather.

Kamloops Rube Band on Easter Sunday in Riverside Park, Kamloops, BC
Certain things are just expected and that would be a band in a parade, so everyone would hope the world famous Kamloops Rube Band would be there and they were!  They were all dressed in their Sunday best to entertain us with their costumes and their music.  They really are a talented, albeit motley crew and have travelled around the world as Kamloops Ambassadors and represented us well for many years.
Gizeh Shriners Keystone Kops of Kamloops, BC
The Gizeh Shriners Keystone Kops, based on the old silent movie routine, added their color to the parade with a prisoner in their midst. They drove their 1934 Chevy truck, the Kop Kar in the parade but I missed seeing that. They have been promoting the image of Shrinedom with their award winning antics since 1988 when they first formed the unit.

1939 Buick in Easter Parade in Kamloops, BC
I realize that it depends on our age as to what era car appears to be an ‘old’ one and it seems to be they need to be from the 30’s to be ‘old’ to me, so these are the ones I am usually drawn to.  The ones we used to own don’t seem old yet, but to the young ‘uns, they are!  Guess that gives away some ages!

This old beauty sits proudly showing her vintage style
Most of these cars are owned by members of the Kamloops Chapter of the Vintage Car Club of Canada.  You can learn more about the club and their objectives if you check out their webpage.

1932 Chevy is one of the Vintage cars in the Easter Parade
Another car from the ’30’s and it has such character to it!  The Vintage Car Club requires that the vehicle will be at least 25 years old and will not accept any in their parade unless they are restored using original parts and are not modified in any way.

Kamloops Mounted Patrol of Kamloops, BC
The Kamloops Mounted Patrol was there to spend time with anyone that was interested in seeing and petting the horses.  Rick Wanless first founded the group in 1992 to serve the community at public events and has been doing it ever since.  There is never a lack of interest for the horses and their contribution to events such as the Easter parade is always appreciated. 

Crowds gathered for the Vintage Car Club at Riverside Park, Kamloops, BC
Once again the Easter parade has been a successful one and the crowd proves that Vintage is still a good thing and something we all enjoy. The sun was shining and the day was great, and to quote an old Broadway song, it did not rain on our parade!

This is another reason why we love Kamloops ~ there is just no place like home!