May Days
Thank you Port Coquitlam!
A big thank you to our sponsors, community contributors and performing artists for your involvement in our online May Days LIVE Broadcast on May 9th and to everyone that signed on to watch! It was a huge success! Incase you missed it, or would like to view again, see the video of the LIVE event above with host Mark Friebe from the Giggle Dam, guest speakers: Mayor Brad West, Cllr. Nancy McCurrach, MP Ron McKinnon and May Days Committee Chair Bob Lee along with music performances by the following artists:
Congratulations to our selected Royal Party members:
Record Bearer – Javier Johnston
Ambassador – Nicholas Klein
First Princess – Alexandria McPhail
May Queen – Mary Krell
Community Art Project submissions will be accepted until June 15th and Flash Fiction Contest continues until June 4th, details below.
Thank you Port Coquitlam for your support of our online May Days this year! We are very hopeful that we can continue with our usual format for May Days 2021 with live events that everyone can attend. See you in 2021!
Supporting, Shopping and Eating Local!
Support our local restaurants and pubs by ordering food to eat at home while you watch the live event video.
Here’s a list of local businesses to choose from:
Hosting a Virtual Block Party
Host a virtual viewing block party by video conference to get to know your neighbours better and share some laughs, art, stories or even ideas about how to cope. More information on how to host a Virtual Block Party HERE
Other May Days Festivities include:
Flash Fiction Contest
Flash Fiction is a complete story told in 750 words or less. Residents of Port Coquitlam of all ages were invited to enter our Flash Fiction Contest hosted by the Terry Fox Library and the City of Port Coquitlam from May 4 to June 4, 2020. The winning Flash Fiction story is featured in the City of Port Coquitlam’s new Storywalk along the Donald Pathway. For more information on contest rules, prizes, the winners and what they wrote, click on the button to the right.
Flash Fiction Contest Details & Winners
'What My Community Means to Me' Art Project
Participate in our Community Art Project
Port Coquitlam residents of all ages and members of the Royal Party are invited to participate in a May Days community art project by expressing in words or drawings what Port Coquitlam means to them.
Download our templates below:
Port Coquitlam Resident Template: Submit online by clicking here.
Royal Party Template: Download and submit artwork in the drop box at the Outlet in Leigh Square. The Outlet at Leigh Square is located at:
#110-2248 McAllister Ave, Port Coquitlam.
All artwork must be submitted by June 15. Artwork will be shared through social media, become part of a large digital art piece, and will be maintained as a record of this unique period of the city’s history at the Port Coquitlam Heritage Museum. Members of the Royal Party will also have their artwork created into a commemorative booklet. Please email arts@portcoquitlam.ca with any questions.
PoCo Has Heart Street Banners
As an addition to the 2020 Community Street Banner project, we will unveil four new heart-themed banner designs selected from the hundreds of drawings residents have submitted to the city over the past month. Watch for the banners on the Coast Meridian Overpass in mid-June!
Mother’s Day Card Making Workshop
Make a card for Mother’s Day!
Mother’s Day is right around the corner! Learn how to make a pop-up Mother’s Day card with a few supplies you already have around the house: paper, scissors, glue, pencil and coloured pencils or crayons.
Origins of May Day Celebrations
The month of May is believed to have been named for the Roman goddess of spring and growth, Maia. The month of May heralds the awakening and flourishing of nature and the coming of spring. In the City of Port Coquitlam, this month marks the celebration of May Day.
In ancient times, May was a time for outdoor celebrations. In Rome, it was a time that was sacred to Flora, the goddess of flowers. The Romans celebrated May Day with flower-decked parades. In England, the village youth went to the woods to gather spring flowers and hawthorne branches, returning singing and dancing. The flowering boughs they gathered were used to decorate the May tree. As the white flowered hawthorne tree became the tree most often decorated, it came to be called the May tree. In more recent celebrations, the May pole, symbolic of the May tree it has replaced, has been decorated with colourful ribbons.
The City of Port Coquitlam first introduced the celebration of May in 1916 when the principal of James Park School, Mrs. Enid Cox, arranged a small celebration for her pupils. The first official community May Day was held in 1923, when James Park and Central schools combined their efforts. It was in 1923 that Miss Evelyn Mars was crowned as Port Coquitlam’s first official May Queen.
In modern times, Port Coquitlam’s May Day celebration, has a May Queen and an Ambassador, along with the Royal Party, preside over the festivities, which normally include a parade, music, entertainment and dancing around maypoles.
This year’s online celebration is the latest proactive action Port Coquitlam has taken to help stop the spread of COVID-19 and to support the community at this challenging time.
May Days Community Contributors
Thank you to the Community groups that participate in May Days in Port Coquitlam! We appreciate you!
Community Performances – May 6-8
- Choral Connections
- Golden Spike Can Can Dancers
- Silver Chord Choir
- Mellado
- LIndbjerg
- Silver Diamond Country Dancers
To start our online festivities we have a community performance by Choral Connections. Choral Connections is a non-profit, non-auditioned community choir for adults from 21 years of age which are a group of people in the community that have a passion for singing! Thank you for being a part of our annual ONLINE event! Enjoy the show!
It’s day 2 of our online PoCo May Days festivities and next up is the infamous Golden Spike Can Can Dancers. Sharing with us their virtual way of can can dancing.
The Golden Spike Can Can Dancers (GSCCD) is an energetic group of ladies who volunteer their time and energy into practicing and dancing to raise money for different charities and are sponsored by the Pleasantside Community Association. Thank you for being a part of our annual ONLINE event! Enjoy the show!
Thank you for being a part of our ONLINE event! Enjoy the show!
Thank you for being a part of our ONLINE event! Enjoy the show!
Lindbjerg Academy is a performing arts centre that is dedicated to teaching the art of musical theatre, dance, singing and acting. The academy is not only a centre where children learn the skills to perform, but also a place where those skills are applied and enjoyed. The Academy has directed choirs that have performed in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat both times the professional company came to Vancouver (including the tour starring Donny Osmond).
Thank you for being a part of our ONLINE event! Enjoy the show!
A Country Dance Team that loves to dance and have fun. A group of talented, energetic and very enthusiastic dancers. They dance, teach and entertain at most local parades, fundraisers & country events around the lower mainland.
Thank you for being a part of our ONLINE event! Enjoy the show!
May Days is virtual!
This year’s online festivities replaced the iconic annual parade, Party in the Square and other events that draw thousands into downtown Port Coquitlam that were cancelled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The online festivities kicked off on May 6, when performances by local artists and other activities were uploaded here and pocomayday.ca leading up to our LIVE online broadcast celebration on May 9th.
Thank you to our partners and sponsors!
May Days is organized in partnership with the May Days Committee and the Port Coquitlam Centennial Rotary Club.
Thank you to our sponsors: Canadian Heritage,Canadian Royal Purple and Downtown PoCo BIA



Contact
Alex Bickers
Event Producer – Community and Civic Events
Tel 604.927.7935
Email bickersa@portcoquitlam.ca