The sun shone as Manha Rishard was crowned as New Westminster’s 152nd May Queen on Saturday – marking the return of the longstanding May Day tradition to Queen’s Park.
After a two-year hiatus because of COVID-19, more than 300 spectators watched as Manha was crowned May Queen on Saturday, May 28. The day’s lineup also featured maypole and folk dances performed by local children, entertainment from a variety of dance groups, a land acknowledgment, and speeches by a number of dignitaries, including Qayqayt First Nation Chief Rhonda Larrabee.
Larrabee said the stories of Indigenous Peoples in Canada are no longer being hidden, as they’re now being talked about and taught in the school system, which will lead to a greater understanding of their experiences and what they’ve had to overcome. She said Indigenous Peoples now have a stronger voice, and Canadian citizens are listening to their stories.
“Keep the conversation alive so that all Canadians and Indigenous people can live, work and play in harmony,” she said. “Today, I congratulate the past May Queen and the past Royal Suite and congratulate the new queen and the new royal suite.”
B.C. Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin, Senator Yonah Martin, New Westminster MLA Jennifer Whiteside and New Westminster-Burnaby MP Peter Julian were among the other dignitaries attending May Day – many who thanked the New Westminster May Day Community Association for organizing this year’s event.
“Today is a day of revival after two years of the pandemic,” Julian said.
Acting Mayor Nadine Nakagawa brought greetings from the City of New Westminster. She said the last two years have been challenging, so the event was a way of bringing the community together.
“It’s quite an accomplishment to keep such a tradition alive for so long,” she said. “So, thank you to the Community May Day Association for all of your tireless efforts.”
A century-and-a-half after Nellie McColl was crowned New Westminster’s first May Queen in 1870, Manha said she is “very excited” to represent the city as May Queen. She said it’s an honour she will treasure.
This year’s May Day was also the first May Day event in Queen’s Park to be organized by the New Westminster May Day Community Association, after the school district decided it would no longer be involved in organizing the event after 2020.
Quayside resident Maureen Albanese was among the locals who attended the event. She grew up in Vancouver, but fondly recalled visiting family in New Westminster. She remembers attending a May Day ball in Queen’s Park Arena that once followed the ceremony.
“I feel it’s important to support it after all these years,” she told the Record. “I have a picture of my grandmother – she was a maid of honour in the suite. I think it was 1891. … It’s part of my ancestry
Chloe Ramos, a Grade 12 student at New Westminster Secondary School, watched as her sister performed the maypole dance, just as she did when she was a student at Lord Kelvin Elementary School.
“Watching the Grade 3 and the Grade 4 dancers, it’s kind of cool to see. Now, it kind of brings the community together,” she told the Record. “It kind of like takes me back.”
