May 15, 1965 was the fourteenth annual Tulip Festival and it featured the first ever Tulip Festival parade.
Below are six additional frames from the Ted Grant Collection (LAC) of the 1965 Tulip Festival Parade. The 1965 edition was the first parade and it featured the RA Queen, Miss Marilyn Dorion, who was a computer operator with the Department of Agriculture1”Strawberry Blonde Crowned RA Queen,” Ottawa Journal, May 8, 1965, Page 3.. As the parade’s “centre of attraction,” Thousands of Ottawans watched as Queen Marilyn was escorted from the corner of King Edward and Rideau to Dundonald Park to open that year’s edition of the Tulip Festival. Due to the late spring that year, the festival was not in full bloom until the following week2”Crowds view tulip parade,”Ottawa Citizen, May 17, 1965, Page 4; “Thousands Watch Tulip Parade,” Ottawa Journal, May 17, 1965, Page 5..
On another day, I will go into much greater detail about the Miss Civil Service / RA Queen pageant and the responsibilities that were expected of her during her reign. For the time being, I would just like to share the imagery captured of Rideau street on that warm spring day in 1965.