“Welcome to the jungle, we’ve got fun and games.”
Hopefully these well-known lyrics, sung by Guns ‘N’ Roses, get you pumped up, because on Saturday, things are about to get wild in the Heights.
On June 4, the Heights Merchants Association its hosting its 32nd Hats Off Day parade and street party. The annual event is a day for businesses in the Heights to tip their hats to the community for its support throughout the year, and each year, organizers pick a theme to get parade participants and businesses excited about the festival.
This year, the Hats Off Day committee went with a jungle theme. Expect to see some colourful displays in the parade on Saturday, including the folks from the Burnaby Public Library who, like every year, have thrown themselves wholeheartedly into planning for the parade.
“As always, we at the library are excited at the chance to dress up once more and be part of the Hats Off Day celebrations,” Carol Belanger wrote in an email.
Belanger is a librarian at the McGill library branch, and she and her fellow library staff are one of 42 community groups and businesses walking in the parade this year.
As they do every year, the Burnaby Public Library team is once again connecting the Hats Off Day theme to characters from some beloved children’s books.
“We realized this year we had lots of choose from,” Belanger wrote.
Chosen characters include: Horton from Horton Hatches the Egg; Max and a Wild Thing from Where the Wild Things Are; Dora the Explorer; jungle-ready Waldo; Curious George and the Man with the Yellow Hat; and Ms. Frizzle, from the Magic School Bus series, dressed in jungle attire.
There will also be animals and birds from The Jungle Book, and a four-person drill team pushing decorated book carts.
Hats Off Day kicks off with the annual pancake breakfast at 8:30 a.m. and then, at 9:30 a.m., there’s the Family Fun Dash, which is a three-block race down Hastings Street.
Family teams can register online at www.hatsoffday.com/family-fun-dash. There’s a $10 fee to sign up. Proceeds go to the Burnaby Firefighter Charitable Society.
At 10 a.m., the parade starts, making its way down Hastings Street from Beta Avenue to Boundary Road. The street party follows immediately after the parade wraps up. Hastings Street will remain closed to traffic from Boundary to Gamma Avenue until 4 p.m.
And don’t forget to check out the Show and Shine classic car show, set up on Hastings Street between Willingdon and Gamma avenues and hosted by Elvis and Marilyn from the Iconic Tributes.
“There really is something for everyone at Hats Off Day,” said Heights Merchants Association executive director Isabel Kolic, in a press release.
“From kids’ activities, to amazing authentic ethnic food, to live music and exciting performances, you’ll find it here. But, the nicest part is the true feeling of community. Hats Off Day is a grassroots festival at its very best.”
For more information, visit www.hatsoffday.com.
