REGINA – There is just one more week until Regina hosts the 101st Grey Cup, and preparations are getting underway for all the pre-game festivities, including Regina’s traditional Grey Cup parade.
Darleen Nichol and her team at Imagination Ink have been busy designing and building the temporary floats.
“The first one took a day for the CFL floats. Then after that we were able to knock it down to two a day,” said Nichol.
Nichol and her staff had to make sure the materials being used were sturdy enough to withstand unpredictable weather, while staying on budget.
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“We take it very seriously that they hired us to represent the festival and we’ll do anything in our power to make Saskatchewan, Regina and the Riders look good,” said Nichol.
It’s down to the wire. The team is spending nearly 18 hours a day to finish all 20 floats. This is Nichol’s second time building floats for a Grey Cup parade — in 2003, her company built three.
“I think the parade in 2003 was great. It was a community-style parade with lots of floats and entries. But now, this time, we’re going to try to take it up a notch,” said Dave Pettigrew, 101st Grey Cup Festival Committee Chair.
And with the amount of snow the Queen City got hit with this weekend, the Regina Food Bank is offering their indoor space for storage, to keep the floats in best condition.
“We’re pretty excited to be able to help out, give back, and work with people in the community that are preparing all the floats,” said Steve Compton, CEO of the Regina Food Bank .
The parade begins at 9:30 a.m. next Saturday at the Legislative building, and will travel down the Green Mile to Mosaic Stadium.
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