Feature Story                                                                                                          Monday June 6, 2011

Classic Canadiana

Yarrow Days parade and community festival a slice of West Coast life

Craig Hill/Voice photos

Yarrow Days parade Saturday saw record crowds attend the annual event.

arrow always looks great when it's decked-out and town folk there really know how to throw a party. Time slows down to parade pace each year when Yarrow Days happens. The event herald's the approach of summer.

The parade is the mainstay of the annual event and one of the most colourful spectacles in the Fraser Valley. On Saturday, hundreds of kids waited in wide-eyed wonderment for the parade to start.

The parade theme this year was "Yarrow Schoolhouse Rocks".

Yarrow Fitness Fun Run is always the first out of the gates at 7:30 am running to raise money for the men's centre.

Then about 8:30 am folks usually drift over to the Yarrow Alliance Church for their excellent free pancake breakfast which is always a treat for the community and a festival highlight, before settling on a spot to watch the parade.

Lisa Adrianne kicked-off the stage events with a rendition of the national anthem just like she did last year, only better. The day-long event had lots of live music on stage, a run-behind soap box derby, and people left their handprint cast in cement for $10. There were craft booths, kids' games and all kinds of food.

Hank da Barber looks even younger than he did last year and was just as active, lugging out a chair from his shop on Yarrow Central to watch the parade from. He's always got a smile and is quick to laugh just as he's done there for the last 60-plus years.

Shayne King-Scobie said he and his family have just moved into their now-complete dome home. He's really looking forward to a wonderful lifestyle in-the-round. Last year at this time the two dome homes were mere shells.

King-Scobie says they're almost at capacity for Groundswell Community. Just two more homes for sale and the roster for the community is filled with 30 happy families living a lifestyle city folk can only dream about.

Groundswell is a really wonderful community to live in for many reasons. Everyone brings something to the table, a certain trade or skill or they contribute in some unique way.

The Ecovillage Farmer's market has started. Watch the Voice for more details on that as it becomes available.

Yarrow Fiddlers together with West Coast Fiddlers were on stage as were music teacher Garry Radysh's Chilliwack Secondary School Band. Dancers, Jeff Bonner and friends from Tractorgrease were playing along with various other artists like Head Over Heals classic Sounds and Soup Bone Blues Band.

Everything was the same this year and just as enjoyable as it was last year. The weather was a carbon copy and the parade as good, as always. The only difference this year there were more people enjoying the festivities. More happy, smiling faces.

Photos below are in random order.

© Copyright (c) 2011 The Valley Voice

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