May Day, Saturday May 23, 2009
Schedule of Events and who does what when...
“In the Air” is the theme of May Day 2009. Join your friends and neighbours in a big community picnic at Rebecca Spit, Saturday May 23, 2009.
Celebrate the coming of Spring and Summer with colour, costumes, floats, music--the more zany and bizarre the better! Let your imaginations soar. With this theme, the sky is the limit. What is in the air? “Music? Love? Fairies? Dragons? Planes? Super-man? Hot Air Balloons? Castles? What songs mention ‘in the air’? What stories and myths come to mind?

8:30 am Gates open for parade entries.

9-10 Free shuttle from Heriot Bay Inn to the Spit.

10 am Parade starts from beginning of Spit to the parking lot.

10:30 Face painting starts. Concession.

11 Official ceremonies.

12 noon Box Lunch auction.

12:30-ish Afternoon entertainment begins.

12:30-2:30 “Beach structure” building.

1:15-ish Foot races begin.

1 pm Sailboat race begins.

1:30 pm Sailing dinghy race begins at boat ramp.

2-3 pm Shuttle back to HBI

Please leave your dogs at home! Let’s keep May Day happy and safe for everyone by being aware of any potential dangers and acting accordingly. Parents: we need your help on this!

May Day is a volunteer-powered, non-commercial, traditional community event, first held on Quadra in 1898. The Recreation Society Board of Directors thanks the many dozens of people who contribute to the event in big and little ways and wish everyone a happy, joy filled, sunny day!

POSTERS: See more details on posters by Leslie Matthews.

PARKING: On arriving at Rebecca Spit, please do not park beyond the park gate as the parade floats, etc. need room to set up. All floats will end up in the parking lot after the parade so please don’t expect to follow the parade up to the parking lot! It will already be full. Thank you Paul Ryan and Larry Waddell for gate control.

PARADE: Get your neighbourhood, business, or group together and challenge other groups to out-do your float! There are the Credit Union Trophy for best float; prize money for costumes, bike, walkers. [Many say the best fun of May Day is in the parade line up...so come on and get involved!] Thank you judges anonymous and parade marshals, Jeanie Stoppard, and Linda Jefferey-Pillon.

GREASE POLE: Doug and Gretchen Peters grease the pole and monitor the contestants. No pyramids please. Note at the top tells the winner to collect $50 from the person at the information table. (“One person boosts are o.k. and wiping the grease off with a shirt is one way we can go home before next May Day”, says Gretch.).

GRADE 6 PICNIC: May Day is a time to honour the Grade 6 class which will be leaving for Campbell River next year. Check out the last picnic table with the balloons. Thanks Karen Lakberg and Grade 6 parents for organizing this.

MC: We are happy to bring back a former May Queen, Libby Bawks-Smith to be our Mistress of Ceremony this year. Go, Libby, go!

QUEEN AND COURT: Speech contestants in Grade 6 deliver a speech at the Community Centre 2 weeks before May Day. The winner is the May Queen and runners up are in the court. This is done in the spirit of honouring the Grade Sixes’ transition to high school next year and having the whole age group be “special” at May Day. Thanks, Robin Beaton for guiding this process. Former May Queens are the speech contest judges.

STAGE: Thanks to Mel Doak for supplying and setting up the stage; and grade 6 parents for decorating it. Thanks Mel, also for the donating the porta-potties!

MAY DAY DEDICATION: Each year a citizen or group who has given positive service to the community over a lengthy period of time is honoured. This year we will do the obvious: we are dedicating May Day to all the May Day “regulars” who have kept May Day alive and well over these many years. You know who you are, so please come forth, in front of the stage so we can pay you just homage. (Um, friends and families of said people, may have to give a push from the sidelines.)

SOUND: Mo Davenport is supplying the sound equipment and being the techie. (We are hoping he will also play his guitar and sing some tunes in the afternoon.)

MAY POLE DANCERS: Barrie Calverley, Linda McClusky and Inger Crighton prepare the Grade 3 dancers for the traditional May Pole dance. Thank you also to the staff of Quadra Elementary. Bravo!

BOX LUNCH AUCTION: Please support all the local businesses who donate magnificent “box” lunches each May Day. This is a big fund-raiser for next year’s May Day. Get your friends together to bid and have a marvellous banquet. Our fabulous Deb Manery is organizing this. Robert Clandenning is the auctioneer.

CONCESSION: Want to volunteer for a spell? Phone QCC at 285 3243. Thanks to Steve Swanson and support crew for supplying the tent and go-getter, Nancy Essig for master-minding the whole concession and thanks to the dozens of volunteers who do a shift or two.

RACES: Thank you once again to the Quadra Elementary school teachers for organizing the races. What would we do without your professional touch! Helen Lee, Michael Redican, Deb Hawkins, Marnie Younger and Marnie McMahon are key people.

ENTERTAINMENT: After the box lunch auction, stay tuned. There could be some action on the stage. Check out the belly dancers; word has it their costumes will be stunning.

SAIL BOAT RACES: Brian Simmons is organizing this event. If you want to enter the race, phone 285 3128 in the evening. If dinghy sailing is your sport, call John Barclay at 285 3897. Start time for the big boats is 1 p.m. and 1:30 for the dinghies.

FACE PAINTING: Barb Mindell organizes local artists, teens and adults, to paint faces. Some four hundred faces are decorated by the end of the day! It’s free and starting at 10:30 a.m.

BEACH STRUCTURES: Create “Castles in the air” from driftwood and anything else found on the beach. Barb Mindell and Laird Fredericks organize this for 6 to 20 year olds from 12:30 to 2:30 on the Drew Harbour side of the Spit. Teams of 2 or more members meet the Environmental clowns to sign up and get started. First, second and third prize money goes to the best creations. Audience can buy a flag for a dollar and vote by putting your flag at the creation you like.

VOLLEYBALL: Pat Field and family will start you off.

CREDIT UNION DISPLAY WINDOW: Check out the theme based display at the credit union in the weeks before May Day created by artist, Candace Holmes .

PHOTOGRAPHER: We would like you to be the official photographer! If you get some good shots, send them to quadrarecgicable.com or burn us a cd and be part of our archives.

EQUIPMENT GUARDIANS: Thanks Clandenning family for care-taking over night.

MAY DAY DANCE: Oops! The band fell through. It’s good to take a break every now and then. If you have great ideas for bands for next year, let us know.

CLEAN UP and recycling. Help keep the park clean. Please pick up litter when you see it. Check out Dan Bingham’s recycling centre by the concession.

Have a great May Day and thanks to all who made suggestions for themes and put them in the theme suggestion boxes. And of course, big appreciations to all the volunteers who have kept this tradition alive over the years. We dedicate May Day 2009 to you!
– Sandy Spearing and Sonya Thompson,
Coordinators 285 3243 (M-F 8-2pm)