Crowds line streets in downtown Edmonton as parade kicks off K-Days
Edmonton’s marquee summer carnival got underway Friday morning as the annual parade kicking off K-Days wound its way through the city’s downtown core.
In spite of an early morning downpour, people were lining the parade route along the sidewalks of Jasper Avenue and 101st Street two to three hours before the first float was expected to pass by.
The kickoff to the 10-day summer celebration included 127 colourful entries — floats, marching bands and barnyard animals.
Catch our lions and dragons in action at the <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/KDaysParade?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#KDaysParade</a>! <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/yeg?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#yeg</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/kdays?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#kdays</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/KDaysyeg?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@KDaysyeg</a> <a href=”https://t.co/9OFGDT1Vs8″>pic.twitter.com/9OFGDT1Vs8</a>
—@ChinatownYEG
<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/kdays2018?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#kdays2018</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/kdays?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#kdays</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/RedDeerCounty?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@RedDeerCounty</a> best energy so far from these kids Fromm red deer band!! <a href=”https://t.co/zavlEgZkPh”>pic.twitter.com/zavlEgZkPh</a>
—@ViviannaBottice
The parade marshal was figure skater Kaetlyn Osmond, a double medallist at the 2018 Olympics who trains in Edmonton.
Who is coming down to the K Days parade here this morning ?! <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/kdays?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#kdays</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/yeg?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#yeg</a>
—@kaetlyn_23
The parade also included federal, provincial and politicians.
We won’t let the weather rain on our parade! Excited to be here at the <a href=”https://twitter.com/KDaysyeg?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@KDaysyeg</a> parade with my <a href=”https://twitter.com/abndpcaucus?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@abndpcaucus</a> colleagues! <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/ableg?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#ableg</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/abndp?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#abndp</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/abpoli?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#abpoli</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/yeg?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#yeg</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/kdays2018?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#kdays2018</a> <a href=”https://t.co/NhSt9g5hqR”>pic.twitter.com/NhSt9g5hqR</a>
—@shoffmanAB
Big crowd of <a href=”https://twitter.com/Alberta_UCP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@Alberta_UCP</a> supporters out to kick off <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Edmonton?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Edmonton</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Klondike?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Klondike</a> Days this morning. Looking forward to the parade. <a href=”https://t.co/DeZVfeBeYy”>pic.twitter.com/DeZVfeBeYy</a>
—@jkenney
K-Days, including the midway, entertainment and endless variations of deep-fried food, officially opens at Northlands Friday at noon and runs until Monday July 30.