Along Rue Saint-Joseph towards Grandes Estrades and also on the other streets of the route, spectators gathered on both sides of the public road to admire the sleek beasts, the cars they shot and other animated floats.
The equestrian club Friends of Maskinongé Horses alone presented more than 15 horses. Mounted by riders or harnessed to pull carriages, dozens of horses of Canadian breed, Belgians, Arabians and Percherons, with braided tails and combed manes, made their full presence known.
The President of the Western Festival Organizing Committee, Nadia Moreau, wanted a beautiful parade, and she got it. With around fifty paintings it set off from the festival stables at 1 p.m. and toured for ten days in September through the great metropolis of the Wild West that Saint-Tite becomes. When a “village of 4,000 souls” attracts 600,000 visitors in such a short time, its face changes completely.
This was remembered by Stéphane Beaulac, presenter at Rouge FM, who commented on the parade at the intersection of Saint-Paul and Notre-Dame streets, trying to create a bit of atmosphere while waiting for the floats and other paintings. .
The marching bands, the cadet corps, the mascots, the cheerleaders, the Royal Canadian Navy, the dancers and line dancers followed one another, interspersed with carriages pulling elected officials and other dignitaries in pairs with four or six horses.
Among the most surprising allegorical floats is Urban Adrenaline’s, which featured a skateboard and scooter ramp roaming around and four acrobats in action. They paid for their daring with a few falls, but without serious consequences.
Festival violinist Pascale Croft rocked her instrument throughout the parade, adding virtuoso solos to traditional country tunes. The TR Cheer team performed breathtaking acrobatics along the way.
The saloon car, led by the festival’s dance coordinator, Guylaine Bourdages, was followed by dozens of dancers who accompanied the entire ride with their steps. Even the festival’s newlyweds showed up.
At the end of the parade, on the FWST allegorical float, Nadia Moreau was no longer on the ground. “I’m in seventh heaven about the parade,” she said after receiving numerous comments from viewers. The 2023 parade is considered one of the largest in recent FWST history. “A lot of effort went into it, we adjusted the budgets, we had more tables than usual. I got comments like I’ve never had on a parade route before,” she says happily.
“To the eye,” estimates the organization’s president, “there were many, many, many people.” Most notably, these people arrived a day early to attend the Tim McGraw show on Thursday night. Although the official figures won’t be available until later, it was a very good opening weekend, even if only in terms of quality, says Ms Moreau.
Among the novelties of the festival is that the big bingo, which takes place on Monday evening at the Country Club Desjardins, will be hosted by the incomparable Rita Baga. “This year we have given ourselves the mission for each act to find ways to renew ourselves and give our festival goers a little wow,” says Nadia Moreau. Therefore, the bingo team brought the idea to market and the arrival of the famous drag queen at FWST awakens the pride of the organizers.
Staying in the realm of gambling, the lucrative 50/50 draws, normally reserved for festival-goers who can purchase tickets on the street or in the stands, now have a virtual version. By Sunday afternoon, the online prize pool was growing rapidly, approaching $130,000. This jackpot drawing will take place on September 17th during the Rodeo Finals.