Fun under the summer sun

Folks from near and far got a chance to experience first-hand the Heights’ charm this Saturday as Burnaby’s favourite street festival continued its reign.

Thousands of people came out to the Heights Merchants Association’s annual Hats Off Day parade and street party on Saturday.

“Things were still rocking at three o’clock, where usually it starts to slow down at that point, and it was still really busy,” Isabel Kolic, the association’s executive director, told the NOW. “It just felt busier; it felt livelier. It was a good time.”

This year’s jungle theme was a big success, too, Kolic added.

Merchants and parade walkers really threw themselves into the whole thing, she said, adding that Indiana Jones and the giant boulder, played by two actors, were among the crowd favourites in the parade.

“The boulder was chasing Indiana Jones all the way through the parade, it was pretty funny, and then Tarzan and Jane had a skit with Jane’s dad. They were just performing the skit in repeat all the way down the street,” Kolic said.

Overall the event was a huge success, she added.

“Hats Off Day has a really sweet local spirit that’s the undertone for everything,” Kolic said. “They can’t help but feel that, ‘Wow, I’m in a community. This is a neighbourhood.’”