May Days & The Maypole

It has been over 100 years that Kaslo villagers have celebrated Queen Victoria’s birthday with a rollicking spring festival. In the old days the sternwheelers ran excursion trips from Nelson and stopped to pick up revellers at every point along the way, while others arrived in every type of boat and conveyance, filling the streets of Kaslo with miners, prospectors and their families. The main events of May Days back then were a horse race down Front Street, with prizes as high as $250, and a unique “Prospectors’ Race.” Prospectors would line up on the street with all their camping equipment; during the  race, they had to pitch their tents, light a campfire, set up their cooking equipment, mix bannock and cook it! At today’s celebration the prospectors are few and far between, but the fun and competition continues with logger sports, ball games, games for kids and all sorts of great activities.

Come May 22 to 24 to celebrate with the villagers the tradition that they have kept alive, without missing a single year, since 1892. As ever, a highlight of the weekend is the May Pole dance. To the delight of the audience, young dancers weave ribbons around the May Pole in time to the music of a fiddle and flute. While you’re watching the children weave their intricate pattern, turn around and you’ll notice the older people either beaming or with tears in their eyes – they are surely remembering the day that they too danced this ancient dance with ribbons in their hands.