Whitefish carnival float wins at Calgary

The Whitefish Winter Carnival royal court, along with the annual carnival’s infamous band of yetis, mountain men and Viking divas, brought their legends and lore to Canada and won first place recently in the Calgary Stampede Parade.

The carnival float won champion in the municipality division and took third in the Western costume category.

With England’s Prince William and Princess Kate presiding over the opening of the parade, there were a record 425,000 spectators and 2 million Canadian viewers watching the event on TV.

The Whitefish group was featured on two live television programs and was interviewed by an AM talk radio show in Calgary during their visit north of the border.

Yetis carried signs that read “Only 146 days to ski season” and “Pray for snow.”

The parade commentary spoke of the beauty of the Flathead Valley, the great skiing, golf and how Calgarians love coming here, especially with the great exchange rates, according to the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce.

Participating in the parade were Winter Carnival King and Queen of the Snows Jim and Lisa Stack, standing in for Bart and Carol Erickson; Prime Minister Doug Reed; Duchess of Lark Kate King (filling in for Betsi Morrison, who was busy with an Alpine Theatre Project show that day); Princess Freya Hailey Vasquez; two unidentified Yetis; mountain men Tary King and Lester Johnson; and Viking Divas, Bee Bickel, Becky Vance, Allison Deaver and Renee Olson.

 A video of the parade can be seen at http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/Sports/Calgary_Stampede/2031640995/ID=2048604670. The Whitefish float is at the 1 hour, 30 minute mark.