'Pride and unity’: North Preston celebrates annual community parade

When Vivian Cain founded North Preston Day in 2007, the parade had just 10 cars. But the joy it brought to local children meant everything to her.

"We don't have a swimming place where they can swim," Cain said. "We don't have a skating place where they can skate. We don't have none of that stuff.

"They look forward to [the parade] and a chance to get all together as one big community that lives in pride and unity."

Nearly two decades later, the event has grown to feature dozens of colourful floats, ATVs, vibrant costumes, bouncy castles, live music, and local food. The annual tradition celebrates the culture of historic North Preston, which is the largest Black community in Nova Scotia.

The 19th annual parade kicked off Saturday on Simmons Road, passing the community centre before winding through the neighbourhood. Some residents set up lawn chairs on their properties to watch the procession, while others danced and sang along behind the moving floats.

"What we're trying to do right now is to bring families together," Cain said.

Donna Johnson watched the festivities from her living room window alongside her 96-year-old mother, Ethel Fraser.

Both Johnson and Fraser were born and raised in North Preston. Johnson recalled how growing up in the community looked quite different generations ago.

"We didn't have the devices that we have like phones or anything. So we were out playing ball, skipping, but today it is a little different," she said.

Still, Johnson said the parade always bridges the gap, bringing together young and old, current residents, old friends, and those who have since moved away.

That deep connection to home is familiar to volunteer Dwane Provo. Even when he lived in Toronto, he made sure to travel back every year for North Preston Day.

Provo recently moved back to Nova Scotia permanently to help preserve the community's rich heritage. Many residents in North Preston and surrounding historic Black communities trace their lineage back more than 200 years to the Black Loyalists and Jamaican Maroons.

For Provo, events like the parade anchor the community's past to its future.

"We're looking to be here for the next 100 years," he said. "So we're just trying to keep that foundation that my great-grandparents and grandparents set."