LaSalle Turtle Club keeps parade tradition alive on opening day

The LaSalle Turtle Parade took place Saturday, with many of the 900 kids signed up to play participating.

Opening day has arrived for the LaSalle Turtle Club, and with it, a long-standing community tradition.

“We’ve been doing this for many years. In fact, this is our 68th season here,” said club President Don Hunt.

“We have about 900 kids, and we got a lot of them out today.”

The annual parade to the diamonds looked a little different this year. With construction along Front Road, the club adjusted its route — starting at the Event Centre and making its way through nearby neighbourhoods instead.

“It usually goes down Front Road. Never this way but there’s barriers on Front Road so Hallelujah, it came down and I got front row. I couldn’t ask for more,” said Rosemary Bond.

“I didn’t realize there were so many kids.”

Despite the change, the meaning behind the tradition hasn’t shifted.

“Oh, we’re all about tradition,” Hunt told CTV News.

“We have people here, parents that did this as kids, their kids are participating. It’s a great event.”

Games begin Sunday as the club continues to grow. They now have 87, up from 80 a year ago. Baseball is thriving in LaSalle.

“We’ve been around a long time. We’re doing quite well,” Hunt said.