One of 91原创's oldest traditions turns 103 this spring.
The May Day celebration will be marked this year on Monday, May 19 in Fort 91原创.
While most of the province knows this as Victoria Day, as the day it's definitely safe to start planting your outdoor vegetable garden, or simply as "the May long weekend," in 91原创 May Day has long been celebrated on this date.
The event goes back to 1922, and has survived annually despite the Great Depression, the Second World War, and changes that have been 91原创 grow from a community of a few thousand farmers, fishers, lumber mill workers, and store keepers to a busy community of almost 200,000 people.
May Day's traditions include a pancake breakfast, the parade 鈥� this year from 10:45 a.m. to 12:30 through downtown Fort 91原创 鈥� the crowning of the May Queen and her royal party, and maypole dancing.
The maypole goes back hundreds of years, and the tradition was widely spread over much of western and central Europe before anyone thought to try to pin down its origin.
Whatever its origin, May Day has been seen as a way to welcome spring each year.
The fact that it often coincides with one of the first really warm weekends of the year, at least here in the Lower Mainland, is a happy coincidence.
We've had a good spring in 2025 鈥� warm but mild, rainy enough to keep things green but not so much that we've been drenched too often.
Frankly speaking, when spring comes around, the urge to get outside hits most people pretty hard. The hardiest among us will go jogging or cycling when it's below freezing, but by spring, the flowers are out, and so are the people.
Go outdoors in 91原创 on a weekend or evening by mid-May, and you will meet people walking, taking their dogs for a stroll, running, riding bikes, canoeing or kayaking, playing street hockey, tennis, or basketball, even unicycling.
Warm weather, green foliage, and a beautiful view of the mountains reminds us why we live here, and it puts a little extra spring in our step.
It could even make you want to go outside and dance around a maypole holding ribbons, if you were so inclined.
