April is one of my favourite months of the year. Spring is a time of renewal with the smell of grass freshly mowed, butterflies and bees busy pollinating colourful flowers, birds entertaining us at feeders and in trees, and (hopefully) gentle breezes blowing. It’s also the month I am reminded of a time that BBF participated in Surrey’s Vaisakhi Parade.

Bright Beginnings Foundation had been looking forward to our third annual Vaisakhi Parade in Surrey. In the week preceding the event I worked hard to prepare the kids craft, make new mini brochures, update, copy and cut our standard brochures, make brightly coloured posters, produce business cards and buy a big bag of candy. I packed and repacked our suitcase to fit everything in. The day before the big event I went to Surrey to stake-out our site.

 

I was not able to sleep much the night before as I kept thinking of things that I should have packed. For example, the forecast called for cold and rain so I packed a rain poncho. Being a mom and (retired) teacher I know the importance of being prepared for all eventualities.

I must say that I also really looked forward to the chai tea, pakoras, chana masala  and other treats I would be munching on throughout the day. But most of all I was looking forward to using the event to launch our brand-new bright red pop-up tent. Little did I know the truth of that statement!

When I woke up the next morning I was delighted to be greeted with bright sunny skies! I brought my raingear anyway because I had it packed already. At 7 a.m. my husband and I packed the car with our six-foot table, suitcase, posters and our wonderful tent. But the tent, including the aluminum frame and rolling carry bag, still weighs a whopping 78 pounds. We wanted to be at the site before they closed off the streets on the parade route at 8:00.

Although the sky was blue it was a little windy as we arrived at our site. With the help of a nice gentleman in the booth next to us, we easily erected our tent and table. My husband’s last words of advice to me before he drove away were, “Your rain poncho will cut the wind.” By this time the wind was picking up speed. As I was trying to put the table cloth down, I contemplated how I was going to keep posters and brochures from blowing away.

With the now blustery weather I decided it was time to heed my husband’s advice. As I was in the process of putting on my poncho, we had our “launch” take place rather unexpectedly. A gust of wind picked up the tent and pitched it head over heels down the road. It seemed it had decided that it was not satisfied being a passive onlooker to the days proceedings and instead wanted to show off its splendour and follow the parade route by itself. I chased the red rocket, all the while trying to prevent my poncho from flapping in my face. I was followed by the helpful gentleman, a parade official and an RCMP officer. When we finally caught up with it, it was stuck in a tree a block away.

As the four of us, looking like the chupa-bearers at a Jewish wedding, carried the tent back to our designated spot I was struck by the thought of how lucky we were that this happened before the throngs of parade-goers had arrived. We immediately set to work strapping down the tent with the Velcro straps I had purchased just in case they were ever needed. Better late than never, right? I noticed that one of the tent legs was slightly bent but I didn’t think too much more about it. After a few more minutes of futility trying to restrain posters and brochures I decided it was time to pack it in.

After a frantic call to my husband to return, the two of us worked to take the tent down. This was not an easy task because the slightly bent leg turned out to be completely sheared off under the frame bracket. We schlepped all of our gear in two trips to the car which was parked three blocks away (because by now the roads were closed of course) and returned home without having taken the BBF message out into the community, collecting donations and having fun with the kids that would have swarmed our tent to make whirly-gigs and eat candies. Sadly, I left without tasting any of the awesome Indian delicacies.

Oh yes, I did promise a happy ending… BBF’s business account is $15 ahead from the scrap aluminium we were given by the recycling depot. Wa-hoo!

I would also like to remind you about BBF’s Spring Bulb Sale. There are only 3 weeks left to order your Gladiolas, Dahlias, Calla Lilies and Anemones.  Just click on the Start Shopping link below. Last day for ordering is on Saturday, April 24th.

BBF will get 50% of the sales.

You will be able to pick up your bulbs at our Delta location at the end of April. Or you can have them delivered to your door for a small fee.

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