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Surrey army cadets to stage “Freedom of City” parade to city hall

It’s happening Saturday May 6, starting at 9 a.m. in Holland Park, with a parade to city hall and back
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Cadets from the 3300 BC Regiment (Bhai Kanhaiya) Royal Army Cadet Corps. will be marching in Whalley this Saturday. (Photo: Philip Edge)

Surrey army cadets intend to prove that old adage that everybody loves a parade when they march on city hall this Saturday morning.

It’s part of Surrey’s first-ever Freedom of the City event, with the parade — roughly 150 boys and girls, ages 12 to 18, with a military band, flags and the full deal — to start at about 9 a.m. May 6, when they march from Holland Park to City Hall Plaza at 13450 104th Ave., stage a ceremony and then return to the park.

The 3300 British Columbia Regiment (Bhai Kanhaiya) Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps will be marching. The Surrey corps is Canada’s first cadet corp sponsored by the Sikh community. Other cadet groups will join them.

The Freedom of the City tradition started in England in the 17th century, when soldiers used to camps outside cities as townfolk grew nervous seeing them inside city walls.

Eventually they were granted a parade through the city, with drums and banners. This was called Freedom of the City, and was considered an honour among soldiers.

“It’s like a very rare event,” said coordinator Harminder Palak, a primary school teacher who lives in Surrey and has two boys in cadets, ages 12 and 14. Being in cadets, she said, has taught her sons independence, good manners, discipline, leadership skills, and — here’s a good one — the importance of helping around the house.

What does she hope the cadets take away from the event?

“Freedom of the City is kind of like a recognition of their hard work,” Palak said. “We want the community to participate as spectators as well as this is part of history for the City of Surrey.”

Other cities that have hosted Freedom of the City events in B.C. are Vancouver, Kelowna, Vernon, New Westminster, Saanich, Courtenay, Richmond, Pitt Meadows, Victoria and Nanaimo.

tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com



About the Author: Tom Zytaruk

I write unvarnished opinion columns and unbiased news reports for the Surrey Now-Leader.
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