Kids of all ages will be lining the streets Tuesday evening eager to catch the hats, T-shirts, and hundreds of pounds of candy that will be tossed around during the annual parade of boats for the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship.
The parade gets underway at 6 p.m. from the old CN station on Fourth Street West and winds up at the big tent by the Sorting Gap Marina via Central Avenue, Scott Street, and Victoria Avenue.
“The anglers have really made this parade a success,” FFCBC spokesman Bud Edwards said Tuesday morning. “Tossing fishing line, lures, candy, T-shirts, hats.”
Edwards had a spool of fishing line fall at his feet last year.
About 100 of the 134 boats competing in the FFCBC will take part in the parade, and Edwards said the anglers are just as excited as the spectators to get it off the ground.
“Last year, I had one of the anglers fishing for the first time ask me how big the population of Fort Frances was. I said about 8,000 and he said, ‘I think everybody’s here,’” Edwards recounted.
“There is a tremendous response from the public.”
The parade ends with boats being pulled through the tent at the Sorting Gap Marina, where teams are introduced.
The official opening ceremony of the bass tournament will follow the parade at 8 p.m., with the Rainy Lake Highlanders Folk Band to perform starting at 9.
Edwards invites everyone to come out for the parade, adding the popular Safeway barbecue will be open for anyone who might want to drop by.
