Edmonton Journal (Alberta, Canada): Colourful Klondike Days parade wows the crowd [Excerpt]

EDMONTON - This year's Klondike Days parade was the best 13-year-old Kyle Malacapo had ever seen.

And he should know -- he and his family go to the parade every year.

What made Thursday's event stand out was the diversity of people on parade, he said. "There's more cultures in it."

Elvisa Sejdinovic of the Bosnian Cultural Society was one of those people, sweltering under the sun in her satiny traditional dress.

While riding on the float was a lot of fun, the best part for the 14-year-old was "the different cultures people have, and the way they show it."

Fifteen of the 110 floats in this year's parade represented cultural groups from across the city, including Ukrainian, Irish, Romanian, Scottish and aboriginal citizens.

An estimated 200,000 people lined downtown streets to take in the event on Thursday morning.

Next to the bagpipes, the best thing for 11-year-old Robben Lent was the balmy 21-degree weather.

"The parade looks bigger than last year," he said. "And it's a lot warmer."

Sarah Cavan, 12, said her favourite float was the flower-covered entry by the Falun Dafa group, escorted by dancers waving lotus flowers, banners and fans.

[...]

The Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, had a float in the Calgary Stampede parade where they won a prize for the best entry for culture and arts.

On Monday, when the Klondike parade committee decided to allow the group in the event, some volunteers worked around the clock to prepare, Chen said.

"It's really beautiful," Chen said of the whole parade. "I feel honoured to be Canadian here and have the freedom to represent your own culture. We hope Edmonton can see the beauty of Falun Gong."

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