Up and down the Shore, generations of families have lined the roads on summer weekends to cheer the creativity of their friends and kids, to honor the police, fire, and search-and-rescue teams, and to gather up the showers of candy falling from float after float.
Keeping these traditions alive is not easy or free. In 2016, the Porters Lake Community Association reluctantly announced that there would be no Lake and Shore Days festival because of a lack of funds and over-extended volunteers. And the Musuquodobit Harbour parade would have stopped in 2014, until an irrepressible sister duo who’d grown up on the parade, Tegan and Caitlan Smith, decided that they would make the parade happen, come hell or high water.
The Smith sisters are back at it again this summer, and they’re looking for help. “We’ve been working on the parade for four years now,” said Caitlin Smith. “We loved the parade when we were growing up. It’s great for business, children, and older folks to come out, have some fun, and see how creative people are in our community.”
“If you love the parade, we can use your help this year” Smith said. The parade is scheduled for Saturday, July 22, kicking off at 11 AM. “ Putting on the parade is a complicated job. We’re really looking for people to help us with fundraising, getting people and organizations to enter floats, and doing everything that happens on parade day. Pirates, dancers, clowns, people of all ages, start planning your floats and making those puppets. Let’s have a parade that shows the Shore what we’ve got to offer!”
Other local celebrations this summer include:
North Preston Days, July 15
Sheet Harbour parade, August 12
Lake&Shore parade, Porters Lake, August 12
