The 137th K-Days kicked with the K-Days Parade through downtown Edmonton, Alberta. The parade signifies the opening of the fair which runs for 10 days at Northlands Park. This year's parade theme was "Alberta Strong", after Albertans rose to the challenge when 90,000 Ft. McMurray residents were evacuated due to wild fires, that destroyed parts of the city and became one of the largest and most costly disasters in Alberta's history.
The Parade Marshals represented that theme as the Mayors of both Edmonton, His Worship Don Iveson and the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, Her Worship Melissa Blake and first responders from the Municipality of Wood Buffalo led by Fire Chief Darby Allen, and Edmonton's Fire Department led by Fire Chief Ken Block.
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| Mayor of the municipality of Wood Buffalo- Melissa Blake |
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| Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson |
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| Edmonton Fire Chief |
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| Municipality of Wood Buffalo Fire Chief Darby Allen |
Through out the parade were representatives from various first responders including the Canadian Armed Forces, Edmonton Police Services and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
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| Sheriff's Regimental Piped and Drums |
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| Forest Fire Fighters |
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| Edmonton Police Motorcycle Officer |
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| Edmonton Fire Wild Fire Truck |
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| RCMP Officer |
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| RCMP Officers march the parade route |
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| Canadian Armed Ground Forces |
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| Canadian Armed Forces Kodiak |
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| Alberta Sheriff's Department Officers |
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| Tim Reid CEO and President Northlands |
Northlands President and CEO, Tim Reid, Our contributions don't end our gates and this was an opportunity to welcome our neighbours in their biggest time of need." Northlands was the Edmonton location of the evacuation centre for residents from Ft. McMurray.
The First Fair was held in 1893 and in 1964 the name was changed to Klondike Days to represent the heritage of the Klondike Gold Rush to Edmonton. People dressed in there best Klondike wear and western wear from the era, some still do and arrive by wagon the transportation of the west.
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| Horse and wagon courtesy of Northlands |
K-Days is an annual fair in Edmonton, that runs for 10 days from July 22nd, 2016 to July 31st, 2016, on the Northlands grounds showcasing horse racing, entertainment, fair rides, games and food. Last years attendance was 785,290 and the record for attendance was in 2005 with 810,503 coming through the gates.
Download the Northlands APP from the Google Play Store for Android or from the app store for IOS and stay up to date with what is happening
More Pictures from the Parade available
here
http://www.k-days.com
http://www.northlands.com
