FIFA has done what only world wars, COVID, a recession, and torrential rain have managed—they’ve scuttled Lynn Valley Days. The annual celebration joins the Dragon Boat Festival and Hastings Park Skate Bowl, victims due to their proximity to BC Place and the PNE amphitheatre. The Celebration of Light is reduced from three nights to one because of FIFA-related funding issues. The already overloaded BC Supreme Court has trials displaced because sheriffs are reassigned to FIFA security. BC Sports Hall of Fame has been supplanted by the FIFA media centre.
Lynn Valley Days was touch and go until about two months ago, says Eric Miura, President of the Lynn Valley Lions Club. Miura says they were warned that the RCMP, who provide security, would be stretched thin during the World Cup, but he’d hoped to pull a rabbit out of a hat. “We always hoped we’d be able to pull it off,” he says. But without written confirmation from the RCMP they were unable to get insurance coverage.
A North Van Tradition:
Lynn Valley Days, a North Vancouver tradition for over a hundred years, is a family focussed, kid centric event that sees over 5,000 people attend. The first one popped up in 1912 to coincide with the opening of Lynn Canyon Park and the Suspension Bridge.
In the early years Lynn Valley Days was all about the parade, live music, a community dance, and sports events—everything from high jump to egg races. Prizes varied but could be anything from cash to a box of chocolates or an electric toaster in any given year. Later, the annual May Day celebration, which included a maypole dance and the crowning of a May Day Queen, was rolled into Lynn Valley Days.
While different elements of the festival have come and gone, the spirit of the event endures. The Friday night community dance morphed into a gala under a big tent. A couple of years ago, Lynn Valley Days moved from the end of May to the last weekend in June. The weather proved too unpredictable, and rain could mean tens of thousands of dollars in lost revenue, says Miura. The typically dryer month of June is a safer bet.
The Parade:
The crowd pleaser is the parade. When my three kids were little, we joined the procession up Lynn Valley Road to Mountain Highway representing the Montessori preschool, Tee-Ball (Go Dodgers!), and Taekwondo. We were joined by kids from dance and boxing classes, the Freddy Fuddpucker band, adults with bag pipes, war vets from the Legion, jugglers, school bands and floats. Those not in the parade lined the streets, and kids would catch the candies thrown from floats, until that was deemed too dangerous. It’s a nice memory that the worst thing we feared was a kid being hit in the eye with a scotch mint or run over by a tricycle.
The parade ended at the field next to Lynn Valley Elementary and the kids were let loose with a bunch of cash to spend on bouncy castles, face painting, and junk food. Depending on the year, adults could check out a car show on Institute, the beer garden or chat to folks in the booths from places like the library, rec centre, or museum.
It’s really a miracle that Lynn Valley Days exists at all. It’s expensive, it’s labour intensive, and thanks to a few dozen volunteers from the Lions Club, support from the District of North Vancouver and diehard sponsors such as Delany’s Coffee and Save on Foods, it’s mostly manageable. But as soon as Lynn Valley Days is over, the Lions starts planning for the next one.
Even though the date has changed from May to June, the Maypole dance is still part of the festival. Miura would like to see it back next year but needs a volunteer to look after things. Interested? Contact the Lynn Valley Lions https://www.lvlions.com/
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