Culture on Parade at Fort Vancouver

Hundreds of third- and fourth-graders from the Evergreen and Vancouver districts celebrated their diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds at the annual Children's Cultural Parade on Friday at the Fort Vancouver National Site. The parade has been a highlight of spring since 2002, and the culmination of class work that talks about heritage and culture, and encourages children to explore their own families' backgrounds. Accompanied by marching bands, more than 1,500 children marched around the historic grounds. Most wore ethnic costumes or carried posters celebrating their heritage. Finally, the group formed for an assembly in front of the chief factor's house at the reconstructed fur trading post, where they were greeted by Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt, Fort Vancouver Superintendent Tracy Fortmann, and costumed re-enactors representing the Hudson's Bay Co. of the 1840s.