The end of a long weekend is always a sad event. This weekend was Victoria Day in Canada, in which we honour ex-Queen Victoria, and the current Monarch, with Marching bands, fireworks, and sleeping in.

This was my fourth time in Victoria during this event, and I’d never made it down to the parade, so I figured I’d drop by this year. I decided to take some photos, but in traditional parade fashion, my camera died within the first ten minutes. This has happened at the last three parades I’ve attended.

Soon after arriving at the parade, standing in the chill air, shoulder to shoulder with strangers, I suddenly realized why I’ve missed the last three; I don’t like parades. Standing in a giant lineup, that never moves, while people slowly drive by, laughing and waving at me, is what I imagine hell would be like if there was such a thing.

Putting my cynicism aside for a moment, it was fairly good. A lot of schools and organizations got involved and seemed to put in a lot of effort.

One of the groups involved was Homes for the Homeless, or something like that, which was basically a group of homeless people scaring children and screaming that we need to make legislature listen. The cause is certainly valid, as anyone who spends any time in our downtown core will know, but it just seemed out of place in a parade or at least improperly executed. The funny bit (maybe funny isn’t the right word) was after they finished their march, they came back up the opposite way asking the crowds for change.

After my coffee sunk into my system, it was a pleasant way to spend the morning. I think next year the five minute television coverage from the local news will probably suffice, though.