Natal Day Festival: July 29 - August 2, 2010, Part 3 - August 2

The fifth and final day of the Natal Day Festival technically began with the 104th running of the Dartmouth Natal Day Road Races - one of the oldest, continually running foot races in Canada. The races started at 8:00 AM though, and after two hard days of festival going I just couldn't wake up at 5:30 AM a third day in a row (I would have had to cycle over the bridge all the way to Dartmouth, making my departure time even earlier than usual).

I did however make it down to Gottingen Street (apparently the most dangerous neighbourhood in Halifax according to people who don't live there) for the start of the annual Natal Day Parade.

(Town criers announce the start of the parade.)

(The Navy Marching Band leads the procession.)

(Mounties leading the Pipes and Drums "H Division" of the RCMP...)

(Leading yet more Mounties.)

(Pipe and drum bands are very popular in Halifax, as you can probably tell by now if you've read the blog regularly.)

(The Annual Halifax Comic Convention is coming in October, hence this guy's get up.)

(Upper Clements Parks, eh? Sounds like it needs to be added to add to my list of places to visit. Too bad the website URL doesn't work at the time of writing this.)

(This float was in the Pride Parade too, with the same prisoners... I wonder if they were allowed out between parades?)

(Tinkerbell sings on the Best Commercial Entry winning float for some fairytale birthday party company.)

(And here's my pick for Most Colourful Float. I haven't seen Champ in ages; this brings back memories of early morning television watching as a kid... "I can put my arm back on. You can't. So Play Safe." Great message and effective ad, since I've obviously never forgotten it.)

(Again, I never know what these things are supposed to be, but they're always fun to see.)

(Ditto for this thing.)

(The relatively rare Vietnamese parade dragon - often overshadowed by its more visible Chinese relative.)

(Air Cadets marching in time...)

(And the answer to the age old question, "How many boy scouts does it take to help a little old 'lady' across the street?")

(Of course no parade would be complete without Shriners on tiny motorcycles.)

(But apparently even driving a miniature bike or car was too hard for this Shriner.)

After the Parade had ended, it was time to head over the bridge to Sullivan's Pond and Park for the Mayor's Dartmouth Natal Day Tea Party, where I ate even more cookies and even more free cake.

(The excellent Shirley Jackson & The Good Rockin' Daddies entertain the large crowd enjoying the excellent weather and the excellent Natal Day Festival.)

(These guys travelled over to Dartmouth too, to pipe in the mayor again; tax payer dollars well spent, twice.)

Sullivan's Park was also the site of the Pirates of Sullivan's Pond Family Fun Day, featuring bouncy castles galore!

After stuffing myself full of cake and cookies at Sullivan's Pond, I headed back to the Macdonald Bridge for the 28th Annual Bridge Walk over the Macdonald Bridge. Every year during the Natal Day Festival, the Macdonald Bridge (a toll bridge over the Halifax Harbour that sees 40 000 vehicle crossings a day) is closed and a giant celebration is held with even more cake and refreshments, even more bouncy castles and music, and the greatest sight I've ever seen on a bridge - no cars!

(I estimate at least 5 000 people walked over this bridge today. I'll update the real number when I find it.)

(Mr. MACPASS hands out high fives.)

(These ladies were so happy the bridge was closed they started dancing in the street! Either that, or it was because there was a live band playing behind me. Regardless, pay attention Canada, this is what happens when you get cars and drivers off the road.)

Natal Day Festival: July 29 - August 2, 2010, Part 2 - August 1

Day 4 of the 2010 Natal Day Festival started at 9:00 AM, with the Maritime Heart Centre's 17th Annual MACPASS Miles run, over the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge. The race started on the Halifax side of the bridge and continued for one mile up one side of the arched Halifax Harbour suspension bridge, and down the other to the finish line by the toll booths in Dartmouth.

Not only was the race free to enter, but New Balance was on hand giving out free sneakers for anyone to try during the race. Since my old running trainers were over a year old, had crossed both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and travelled across Canada three times, not to mention having spent considerable time walking, hiking and running on three separate continents, they were a little worse for wear (my toes had blown a hole through the sides of both shoes). Therefore I jumped at the chance to wear a new pair for free, even though my personal view is that expensive cushioning-heavy running shoes are the major cause of running related injuries, not their solution.

(My perfectly fitting racing false feet.)

Not having ran any race even close to only a mile since high school, or even having trained for running in over a year, I had no idea what to expect from the race. I just tried to pick a decently fast pace that I thought I could maintain, and see if I could finish the race looking strong and not so close to the back that I embarrassed myself.

In the end I felt that I finished a pretty good race. I estimated that I finished somewhere in the top 25 to 30 racers, and that my time was around 5:35. I even ran the second half-mile a little faster than the first, so that was a good sign too. As my new friend from the YMCA (a retired guy who has to be at least 80 years old) tells me though, "don't you worry about going fast, just meet some people and have fun." It's a great motto for running, and my new motto for life.

(Waiting around at the "start line" on North Street.)

(Heading on to the bridge. I apologize for the off angle picture here, but I didn't have time to stop and focus my shot during the race.)

(The winner of the Open Women's category "breaking the tape" in about 5:20.)

Speaking of the YMCA; after the race I went back there again to get in even more exercise. After lifting some weights and relaxing in the whirl pool and steam room, I went out for coffee with my aforementioned friend. We talked for so long though, that I missed the gospel choirs concert at the Waterfront. It was little worry though, as I was then more easily able to make it to the Mayor's Halifax Natal Day Tea Party in the Public Gardens, where I filled up on the free cake, cookies, and iced tea.

(A pipes and drums band plays for the crowd before the mayor took to the podium to address everyone. His speech was mercifully short and sweet, so that we could get to the cake sooner.)

(The very popular, very busy refreshments tent. The mayor was out carrying around a tray of cookies when I took this picture, so he is not in the shot.)

(Haligonians enjoying the sun and the fun in the Public Gardens. A live band was providing entertainment at the bandstand this afternoon too.)

Nova Scotia National Historic Site #3: Africville

Today, the area formerly known as Africville is a beautiful park located near Mackay bridge with the best views of the Bedford Basin anywhere in the city, but it was once home to a largely black community just outside of Halifax.

During the War of 1812, Black Loyalists were offered free land and supposedly equal rights. The Black Loyalists who came settled in an area along the south shore of the Bedford Basin that would later come to be known unofficially as Africville.

Popular opinion of the day was that Africville was named so because of the strong feelings of loyalty the residents felt towards their home continent. More likely though, is that the name was a subtle form of racism since most of the residents were black, and therefore could not have been recognized as true Canadians, even though none of them came from or had any special affinity towards Africa.

The city of Halifax further showed its disregard for the people who lived there by choosing Africville for the site of the 1850 Nova Scotia Railway line that bisected the community. In 1906, a second line was built through Africville by the Halifax and Southern Railway. The Nova Scotia Railway, which later became the Intercolonial Railway and still later CN Rail, established a train yard just west of the area. Along with it came even more lines running through Africville, and yet more trains.

Even up until its demolition in the late 1960s to make room for the A. Murray Mackay Bridge, Africville never once received proper roads, sewage, health services, water, street lamps, or electricity from the city of Halifax. Its people lived life in racial isolation, forgotten by the government officials at City Hall. The only time the city deemed Africville important was when it built a prison there in 1853, or an infectious disease hospital there in 1870, or the slaughterhouse, or the depository for faecal waste from nearby Russellville, or when it moved the city's garbage dump there in 1958.

In return for being dumped on, literally and figuratively, for over 100 years by the City of Halifax, being bulldozed, and having its people ignored and then evicted, the place once known as Africville was turned into Seaview Memorial Park in 1980, and declared a National Historic Site in 2002. In 2009 Halifax renamed one of its streets "Africville Road," and on February 24, 2010, Halifax Mayor, Peter Kelly, offered an official apology for the razing of Africville.

(Monument in Seaview Memorial Park dedicated to the original Black Loyalist settlers and all other residents of Africville who lived there from 1848 to 1969.)