Announcements from the Williams Lake Stampede Parade committee — visiting bands, concert events, honourary parade marshals and each year's parade theme.
June 5, 2003
2003 Stampede Parade bringing in the music
This year's Williams Lake Stampede Parade included the Enniskillen Accordion Band from Vancouver, the Kamloops Rube Band and the Vernon Girls Trumpet Band.
The Enniskillen Accordion Band was established in 1983. While their music reflects Irish and Scottish heritage, with the majority of their members from Ireland, they also have members from Canada, Scotland and Sweden.
Every year the band performs at about 15 parades, including the Cloverdale Rodeo Parade. They have also participated in parades in Ontario, Ireland, Washington and Florida, and have the distinction of being the first Canadian band to play in the Orange Bowl Parade in Miami and at Disney World in Florida.
The Kamloops Rube Band got their start more than 50 years ago in a parade to publicize the Kamloops Blood Donor Clinic. Their odd "uniforms" back then caused one person to remark that they looked like a bunch of rubes, and the name stuck. The band was a big hit in the Kamloops area and has performed at Expo '67 in Montreal, Expo '70 in Osaka, Japan, across Europe, at Oktoberfest in Kitchener, Ontario and at many more parades in North America.
They perform a cross-section of music, including jazz, Dixieland, ethnic and even classical. The Rube Band likes to be spontaneous, and the Williams Lake Stampede Parade may be in for a few surprises from the band.
Returning to that year's parade was the Andean band Nativo, who convey the spiritual nature of Andean music using the traditional kena flute and panpipes. Since 1988 Nativo has travelled throughout Western Europe, Asia and North America teaching and sharing their music.
That year's Stampede Parade theme was A Salute to our Forest Industry, with Jake Kerr, CEO of Lignum Mills Ltd., as honourary parade marshal. The Kerrs were the founders of Lignum Mills in 1948, and their name has become synonymous with local and worldwide lumber markets.
The Williams Lake Stampede Parade Committee presented a concert by the Vernon Girls Trumpet Band and Nativo.
The 30-member Vernon Girls Trumpet Band and the South American band Nativo played a free open-air concert on the Williams Lake City Hall lawn near the Cenotaph, on the Saturday of Stampede week at 7:30 p.m., weather permitting.
The Vernon Girls Trumpet Band specializes in precision marching and fancy drills. Instruments played are the one-valve trumpet, tenor, bass and snare drums, cymbals and glockenspiels. The band has won over 150 major awards from events such as the Calgary Stampede, the Seattle Seafair, the Abbotsford International Band Festival, the Vancouver PNE and the Wenatchee Apple Blossom Festival, to name a few.
The Andean band Nativo conveys the spiritual nature of Andean music using the traditional kena flute and panpipes. Since 1988 Nativo has travelled throughout Western Europe, Asia and America teaching and sharing their music.
The concert in the park was presented by the Williams Lake Stampede Parade Committee.
Williams Lake Stampede honourary parade marshal named
The honourary parade marshal for the 2002 Williams Lake Stampede Parade was Fred Thomas.
Fred was recognized for his dedicated service to the Williams Lake Stampede Association. He was the Association's President for 10 years ending in 2001, was its Past-President at the time, and in all spent 12 years with the organization. Fred originally came to Williams Lake in 1963 to play hockey for the Stampeders, but hockey was not the only sport he played — he also calf roped and team roped in rodeos around the area. Being part of the Stampede Association came naturally, as Fred had also been President of the Interior Rodeo Association and assisted with the Chilcotin Rodeo Association.
A lot has changed since Fred arrived in town almost 40 years ago, and he says the construction of the Stampede Grandstand was the biggest change. Looking back on his time with the Stampede Association, Fred thinks that getting the Association on solid financial footing and having local people involved in events like the Ranch Challenge have been the things he is most proud of. As for the future of the Stampede, Fred says it will continue to get bigger, and that cowboy travel and animal athlete welfare will be the two areas that might change the most.
Parade theme and entry forms
That year's Stampede Parade theme was Proud To Be Canadian — Show Your True Colours. It was submitted by Graham Smith, who won the prize for the theme suggestion: tickets for four to all four days of the Williams Lake Stampede Rodeo.
Entry forms could be picked up and dropped off at Williams Lake Appraisal Services, 195B South 2nd Avenue, next to Progressive Printers, or printed from this website. If you wanted your parade entry judged, your entry form had to be in by 5 p.m. on the Wednesday before the parade.
Two major bands coming to the 2002 Williams Lake Stampede Parade
The Williams Lake Stampede Parade welcomed two prestigious bands to that year's event: the Vernon Girls Trumpet Band and the Vancouver City Police Pipe Band.
The Vernon Girls Trumpet Band was formed in 1947 by Robert W. Hodgson and his wife, Marguerite. Bob Hodgson was a retired Postal Carrier Supervisor and former Regimental Sergeant Major of the British Columbia Dragoons, both overseas and in Canada.
The band began as a corps of girl cadets with 20 members and has grown to a present strength of 36 girls, ranging from 10 to 17 years of age. The group specializes in precision marching and fancy drills. Instruments played are the one-valve trumpet, tenor, bass and snare drums, cymbals and glockenspiels.
In 1991 the band was honoured with the Freedom of the City award from the City of Vernon for its contributions as city ambassadors. The band has won over 150 major awards from events including Seattle Seafair, the Calgary Stampede, Red Deer, Moose Jaw, the Abbotsford International Band Festival, the Vancouver PNE, the Wenatchee Apple Blossom Festival, the Omak Stampede, Billy Barker Days in Quesnel, Victoria, Nanaimo, Ladysmith Light-Up, Prince George, Dawson Creek, the Penticton Peach Festival, the Interior Provincial Exhibition Parade, Kelowna, the Vernon Winter Carnival, Bremerton, Yakima and Anacortes in Washington, the Leavenworth Autumn Leaf Festival, and the Grey Cup Parade in Vancouver.
The band is totally self-sponsored, so the girls must work very hard to be able to travel and attend events. The band performs and practises year round, including a very busy summer and Christmas schedule. The citizens of the North Okanagan are the band's biggest supporters, along with area businesses and service clubs.
The history of the Vancouver Police Pipe Band reveals a local pipe band that has been in continuous existence since 1914. The pipe band — the Official Band of Vancouver — and its many individual members have had a distinguished past and show no sign of letting past tradition fall by the wayside.
The Vancouver Police Pipe Band is the oldest non-military pipe band in British Columbia and the oldest police pipe band in Canada. Like the band of the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada, formed only a few years previously, the Vancouver Police Pipe Band has during its long history occupied a special place in the hearts of Vancouverites. Its stalwart, strapping members have long been regarded in the city with great pride and affection.
At that time the pipe band was composed of twenty-one pipers, ten drummers and four standard-bearers. Approximately 50 per cent of the band members were police officers from the Vancouver Police Department; the remaining members were police officers from other forces and civilians.
The Williams Lake Stampede Parade Committee was very honoured to have these two esteemed bands in that year's parade.
