With the 115th consecutive Island Farms Victoria Day Parade coming up next month, longtime organizer Ron Butlin has issued a final call for entries.
This will be the 21st year that Butlin, through the Greater Victoria Festival Society, has brought the hugely popular event to the streets of Victoria.
He said he is looking for a surge of participants for the 2013 parade, which is set for May 20 in the heart of downtown Victoria.
The entry deadline is April 10.
“We had 145 entries last year,” Butlin said. “We’ve got lots of entries for this year, but not nearly what we should have.”
He said plenty of entry forms have been distributed in the community, but Canadian entries are about half of what he would like them to be.
Fifteen American bands have signed up, along with three local bands: Lambrick Secondary School, Reynolds Secondary School and Spectrum Community School. Reynolds will be defending its title as best overall band.
The list of this year’s entrants to date includes the Terry Fox Foundation, Miss Teen Canada and the annual contribution from Rob Galey of Galey Farms, Butlin said. “I understand he’s been working on another sensational entry.”
Butlin said the only Canadian parade with more longevity than Victoria’s is the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Montreal.
The Victoria spectacle began as the Empire Day Parade in 1898.
The festival society can be reached at 250-382-3111.
