RIVERMANIA

I've been having such a great time today and am just stopping for a few minutes to tell you about Rivermania. It's a symbolic trip down the mighty Fraser River, the cradle of British Columbia and Peoples along the river as the creators of the history and culture of BC. River communities, and Delta as the end of the river, have been hosting major local celebrations and festivals spotlighting their unique character. The "trip" started on Aug. 24th in Prince George (about 500 miles north of us here) and arrived today in my village of Ladner. You can see it's a perfect day for the festivities, 18C with barely a breeze. Look at the reflections in the water here at the wharf where we waited for the First Nations to arrive in their longboat.


Cathy and I have lived in this area for over 30 years now so we thought we should check out this particular celebration. It's BC's 150th birthday this year and the anniversary of the first settlers in the area - the Ladner family in 1858. We decided not to attend the free pancake breakfast but were on hand for the reenactment of the Ladner Brothers being guided into the slough by Tsawwassen's First Nations "Eagle Spirit" canoe. We followed the parade, led by the Delta Police Pipe Band into the center of the village to listen as our Mayor and the band's Chief welcomed the Ladners.

We saw "Yukon Dan" illustrate how to pan for gold by separating minerals with magnets to find fool's gold or strike the real thing. We also admired his collection of artifacts and jewellry that he had on display. We checked out the clam chowder cook-off contest and got hungry smelling the soups as they slowly simmered to perfection.

Klondike Kate was on hand with her "girls" to entertain us all. It was hilarious to see her flirting with all the old coots and she even had some of them dress up in flaming red longjohns and crazy wigs and hats to do the can can with her.

I got a couple of good videos that I'll try to post later. I positioned myself in front of the Delta Police Pipe Band and slowly moved out of the way as they reached me and passed me by. I also got a few great videos of Klondike Kate performing. She was fabulous. (David, did you see her performance when you were up in the Yukon?)

Oh, and we also took a horse and buggy ride around Ladner Village and learned a lot more about where we've lived all these years. Here we are on the buggy - a lady kindly took our photo (we never seem to get in a photo together) because I took hers with her two little ones.

And here are a couple of photos of the horses. I just love Clydesdales - they are SO big but also SO gentle. These two had beautiful colouring and were impatient to get going.

For now I hope you enjoy these few photos as I prepare for the evening festivities - the final Ladner Market of the season. It's the first evening market (named "Moonlight Market") they've held and I want to see if I can find some Christmas gifts before Cathy and I find a comfy spot somewhere to have dinner. The market consists of 144 artisans and 22 local merchants and we will be entertained with live music by the rock & roll band Tyme Machine and blues band Grey Notes. Apparently, local restaurants are going to be providing special themed Rivermania menus. I'm getting hungry already!