Canada Day 2011: July 1, 2011

After a very rainy May and June, the weather couldn't have been more beautiful for July 1st. The sun was out, and of course so was EP Dave for the annual Canada Day Parade.

Halifax loves having parades. Unfortunately it seems as though every parade features the same floats. What I love about the Canada Day Parade, is that it doubles as the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo Parade as well, and that means new acts every time.

The Tattoo is a half-circus, half-military marching band/drill team exhibition that runs annually. Every year the performers walk the parade route before winding up inside the Metro Centre for the start of the first show.

Representing the Acadiens, Le Baie en Joie are present at nearly every big event in Halifax. Rightfully so though, since they're a world-class dance troupe in their own right, as well as being home grown Nova Scotians (perhaps begrudgingly for them?). And yes, you are right astute reader. I am in exactly the same spot on Spring Garden Road I always stand for parades.

From New Zealand, the incredible all-female Lochiel Drill Team. They are 30-time New Zealand Champions, and you can see from this picture that they even walk down the street in unison.

At about this time I switched over to the other side of the street so that the sun was behind me. There's actually a BellAliant store behind this mega-jeep, and I originally had my hopes up that the military had finally received all my angry e-mails and was coming to destroy Bell. Alas, that was not the case...

Some English traditions die hard...

Champion German stunt cyclist, Domink Lange, has been doing tricks on his bicycle for so long now he's forgotten how to ride it normally. He was joined in the parade/Tattoo by two other German stunt cyclists - Carla and Henriette Hochdorfer. Needless to say their combination of acrobatics AND bicycles was a winning one in my eyes.

Germany has by far the largest non-Canadian contingent every year it seems. If they aren't sending over cyclists or trampoline acts, they can always be counted on to have top-calibre step-drill teams or marching bands in attendance.

Showing us a new way to get around town, the Gym Wheel team from Germany brought their incredible collection of hoops and human wheels. I shudder to think about how they got those through airport security. I have trouble getting a roll of toothpaste on the plane.

When the "horse play" was all over, a more serious float came along. This newly wed couple rented a wagon to pull them through the streets. What a special day for them, but I'm not so sure about the bride's face. The poor girl has a face like a cow.

Of course, what would Canada Day be without fireworks? Halifax loves its fireworks and will think up any excuse to fire them off.

There were whizzy ones...

And fizzy ones...

And smoking ones...

And great big finale ones.

It's interesting too, because it seems easy to take fireworks for granted when your city shoots them off about five times a year. I was talking with one of the young performers from the Tattoo a few days later, and she told me that she was amazed at how big and long the fireworks show was. She came from a small town in Denmark that only let off a few firecrackers once a year on New Years Day.

If I learned anything, I learned today that it's important to get out and talk to people because it helps put everything in a better perspective when you can see things from a different point of view. Stay tuned for more EP Dave-style cultural enlightenment.

Iranian Freedom Demonstration: February 14, 2011

I don't pretend to be an expert on Iranian affairs, but I know from what I've heard on the news, and what I've heard from my Iranian friends, that the situation is not good there. Essentially the people want their freedom, but the government would rather kill its people than provide them with happiness (that may be an oversimplification of matters).

While walking down town on Valentine's Day, I came across this demonstration set up at the entrance to the Public Gardens (obviously). I asked a one of the demonstrators what was going on and she more or less relayed to me the information I explained in the first paragraph.

I asked her how I could help and she begged me to let people know that the Iranians are not bad people, and that they want freedom just like we enjoy here in Canada. She was so emotional about the plight of her country's people that she started crying on the street. I consoled her by telling her I would do my best to spread the word.

Please do my sad friend a favour and at the very least research about what is going on in Iran, so that perhaps you will be moved on some level to do what you can also to help spread awareness of the plight of the Iranian people. Thank you.

Holiday Parade of Lights: November 20, 2010

The 15th Annual Holiday Parade of Lights took place today, and fittingly, the skies also opened up with the first snowfall of the season. Later in the day though, in typical Nova Scotia fashion, the snow turned into rain. Fortunately, we were still mercifully left with a great full moon.

By now a seasoned parade watcher, I headed down to my usual parade viewing location on Spring Garden Road. I had to brave a group of screaming, obnoxious kids, their "liberal" parents, and bitter old hags who criticized all the floats, including the lack of reindeer antlers on some of the dogs, at this particular spot though, because I just had to get shots of the floats in front of this beautiful backdrop (note my favourite tea store - David's Tea - on the right, with the neon blue sign). Don't ever say I'm not dedicated to my giving my dedicated readers the best posts possible.

This is the fourth parade in Halifax I've seen this year, and I'm starting to realize that most of the floats come from the same groups, every time. For example, there's this entry from the Halifax Harbour Bridges group (usually one of my favourite floats, because it always has live music and a dancing Mr. MACPASS).

Or these vintage fire engines, which I've seen at various events around Halifax at least five times now:

This time though, there were quite a few new, Christmas themed floats, and even all of the old floats had a new and exciting glow about them. All the shining Christmas lights probably helped.

(This two part, death-by-lobster/lighthouse float was easily my favourite. It apparently came all the way from Peggy's Cove too. That gives it bonus points.)

(Don't forget to thank your friendly neighbourhood postal workers at this time of year; without them you'd have no way of Priority Shipping all of those last minute gifts you forgot to buy/send ahead of time.)

(It was all about the big man on the sled though. Ho, ho, ho, Merry November 20th!)

Nova Scotia National Historic Site #12: Old Burying Ground

I've mentioned the Old Burying Ground in a couple of blog posts already, so I figured it was about time I made an actual post on it.

Located right on the corner of Spring Garden Road and Barrington Street, in Old Town Halifax, the Old Burying Ground was the original cemetery built in 1749 at the founding of Halifax. While there are only 1200 headstones in the cemetery today, over the years some 12 000 people have been interned here. Of course, the Old Burying Ground is also the home of the impressive Welsford-Parker Monument.

An interesting fact is that all of the headstones were carved by hand using chisels and wooden mallets. Many of the original slate stones were quarried and carved around Massachusetts Bay and shipped over to Halifax before the American Revolution. The newer headstones are carved from local ironstone though, and are apparently of much lower quality because of it.

Critical Mass: September 24, 2010

If you're going to be an Ea-pea, you've got to ride a bicycle; it's that simple. But even if you aren't an ea-pea, you should still ride a bicycle because it runs on fat and saves you money, as opposed to a car that runs on money and makes you fat.

The problem is that for many would-be-heroes, the streets can be a scary place. While I welcome the traffic whizzing by me dangerously close, because I get to thumb my nose at the drivers and look smug when they have to stop during traffic jams, and I pass on by them again, I realize that not all people are as keen as me on the idea of being a road warrior for awesomeness. Thankfully then, there is an event called Critical Mass in Halifax that runs on the last Friday of every month (and indeed in over 300 other cities around the world).

Critical Mass is essentially a semi-organized ride that celebrates being the most powerful force on the road, as it provides strength in numbers for two-wheeled obesity fighters. While the idea and concept of mass rides originated in the late seventies in Sweden (of course), it was not until 1992 in San Franscisco that the spectacle became a regular event.

While Critical Mass bicycle tours are often described as "protests" in the media, the participants themselves describe it as a "celebration of cycling," and this gets them around the sticky legal requirement of giving police advanced notice of an planned protest.

What generally happens at a Critical Mass style event is that any cyclist who wishes to join meets up at a pre-arranged meeting place and the course for the ride is determined by whoever is in front at any particular moment. When it comes to intersections, one or two riders will stop their bicycles and block or "cork" the oncoming traffic until all of the other cyclists have made it through. The rest of the cyclists ring their bells or cheer at the pitiful drivers who feel terrorized by the cyclists for a change (my words and feeling, not necessarily the official position of the organizers).

On September 24 I made my first ride in a Critical Mass event, and I must say that it was brilliant. While I didn't know anyone at first, I made a number of acquaintances along the ride and enjoyed for the first time being able to ride where I pleased without having to constantly look over my shoulder for oncoming murderers... I mean drivers.

I will make it a regular part of my routine to ride in every Critical Mass event that I can until I leave Halifax. To paraphrase Bill Nye: there's something wrong with a society that drives a car to the gym to ride a stationary bicycle. Furthermore, commuting to work in a car increases your nation's dependency on oil (mostly "foreign"), which in turn drives the demand for American "wars on terror", not to mention fuelling extremist fundamentalist terrorism. I don't have any facts for that, but I'm pretty sure it's true. In any event, it's best to be safe rather than sorry. Therefore I say to you, stop supporting terrorism; ride a bicycle.

(The unofficial organizer addresses the crowd of cyclists at Victoria Park underneath the Robbie Burns statue, before the big ride. This month's ride was in honour of a cyclist who was killed when he was hit by a transport truck attempting to pass on the highway.)

(The best scene in Halifax: dozens of cyclists blocking traffic.)

(Happy cyclist on Spring Garden Road. No, it's not me.)

(Where do you stop when you're a cyclist? If you have 60 friends, you stop wherever you want. Take that car drivers!)

HRM Point of Interest #15: Harbour Hopper Tour

When I was in Toronto this summer I had planned to go an amphibious vehicle tour but I ran out of time; naturally then, it was a pleasant surprise when I found out Halifax also had a similar tour. Unfortunately though, while I now had the time, I did not have the money. Thankfully a friend of mine from my church, and a fellow EPDTN reader, offered to treat me to a ride on the Harbour Hopper this last Sunday, and I'm delighted to say that I had a blast.

The Harbour Hopper's website claims that it is the most popular tour in Halifax. I'm not surprised, as it is the only tour which allows you to go on land and water. That said, you'll never hear me say that the Harbour Hopper is the most comfortable tour in Halifax....

The Harbour Hopper Tour "bus" is a actually a refitted Vietnam War-era Lark V. The Lark V was an amphibious transport vehicle designed to carry up to five-tons worth of troops from the supply ships anchored off land into the military bases in the jungles of Vietnam, often over 1.5 miles away. Each Lark V/Harbour Hopper weighs 19 000 lbs, has no suspension, and sounds like two dump trucks trying to win a "make the most noise" competition. None of that matters though, when you get to splash into the Harbour.

The tour goes past all of the standard Halifax points of interest, many of which I've mentioned before on this blog, like Spring Garden Road, the Citadel, and the Grand Parade, but it's the lively and informative commentary by the guides that really makes the trip fun.

I sat at the back of the Hopper, near the engine (engines?) and so could barely hear, but despite all the racket I can say it was easily one of the most exciting things I've done in Halifax since attending the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo.

Interesting Person #6 and #7: Jennifer Kean and Mike Cross

Jennifer Kean and Mike Cross are bicycle riders training for a 4300 km ride from Vancouver, British Columbia to Austin, Texas, to raise money/awareness for cancer. This year's ride will be the fourth year in a row a team has been organized by the Halifax charity/volunteer organization, GiveToLive, and both Jennifer and Mike have been personally affected in one way or another by cancer.

To help raise the $5000 each needed to take part in the ride, Jennifer and Mike took part in a gruelling 24 hour training session at the Spring Garden Road Library. This picture was taken in the 22nd hour, and poor Mike could barely move his legs.

Please take a few moments and explore the interesting GiveToLive website to learn more about this great ride/cause. Additionally, please consider donating even a small amount to help support either Jennifer or Mike (or both).

Random Halifax Picture #5

Spring Garden Road is the busiest pedestrian street east of Montreal. During the Pride Parade, it was filled with even more people than usual. Ukulele Mike, seen above, one of the many buskers who like to set up shop along the strip, must have gotten up bright and early to be able to lay claim to this prime busker real estate on the corner of Spring Garden Road and South Park St. (Across the road from the entrance to the Public Gardens.)

Halifax Pride Parade: July 24, 2010

If the Dykes vs. Divas softball game can be considered the kick-off to the Halifax Pride Week, the Pride Parade would represent the beginning of the close to the Week. Unlike the softball match though, or some of the more famous versions in San Francisco, Toronto or Vancouver, etc., the Halifax Pride Parade truly can be considered "family friendly." Well, at least as "family friendly" as you can get while attempting to celebrate/recognize a group of people who are more or less unable or unwilling to form a traditional nuclear family...

The irony of the Halifax Pride Parade, is that the vast majority of the floats/entries had nothing to do with the theme of the parade, and were more or less just used as advertising opportunities for local banks, businesses, etc. However, as I overheard one local citizen proclaim after the last float had past, "biggest (Pride Parade) I've seen in Halifax ever."

(I didn't know Darth Vader was gay.)

(This little Cadet handing out fliers for the upcoming Air Show was just too cute not to get included in the blog.)

(I'm not sure what this is though...)

(Or why there was an "elephant" there.)

(I also don't remember there being a fire fighter in the Village People.)

(These annoying French girls were just plain annoying, even before they ran out and held up the whole parade. I was really annoyed. Did I mention they were annoying?)

(These pole dancers though, were just downright impressive.)

("Here come the Divas!")

(No matter what your opinion of gay pride parades, I'm pretty sure we're all in agreement that this picture of this "guy" was something nobody wanted to see.)