Falkland Stampede cancels parade due to lack of volunteers

A long-running tradition in Falkland, B.C., is being cancelled this year because of a lack of volunteers.

While the Falkland Stampede is going ahead, the opening parade won’t be.

“We’ve had a lot of people step down after the hundredth stampede last year, and this year, we just haven’t had that many people step up to take the places of our previous volunteers,” Falkland Stampede manager Melissa Churchill said.

It’s a decision that’s disappointed many in town.

“I think it is a shame because a lot of people enjoy it,” said Mark Buttrey, who manages the kitchen at the Falkland Pub.

However, perhaps it should not come as a surprise.

The ability of a small community of fewer than 900 people to put on the Falkland Stampede for a century has been remarkable.

“It means that a small community, working together, can keep on going for a hundred years.”

However, despite that community spirit, with such a small population, the number of volunteers in Falkland is also limited.

There have been other challenges for the parade as well.

Traditionally, the parade has gone down Highway 97 through the centre of town, which has put extra pressure on organizers.

Churchill said organizers are able to get a permit from the Transportation Ministry to put on the parade, but they are only given a 30-minute window to close the road.

“It’s a pretty popular highway so I do understand the restraints. It is just harder for the volunteers to get it done in that time,” Churchill said.

The province, for its part, said it understands the importance of the event and will allow the parade to be longer than half an hour, but organizers would need to set up facilities like portable toilets.

Still, timing issues aside, the parade isn’t going ahead this year unless 11th-hour volunteers step up to make it happen.