Canadians and Americans have been gathering at the Peace Arch every Saturday for the past few weeks, but promoters of the ad-hoc event promise that this Saturday's grass-roots get-together at the historic monument (April 12, noon to 2 p.m., Peace Arch Park) will move it up to "a whole new level."
In a media release, new friends Haidee Landry (of Langley) and Jeff Smith (of Bellingham) said they are encouraging everyone they know – as well as people they have never met – to come out and show their support for the continued friendship of local Canadian and American citizens.
For this Saturday's rally, Landry said she has invited members of the Little Sister Band – and other musician friends – to come down and play for the crowd.
Landry and Smith said they had both been feeling the need to respond to Trump-era politics with a reaffirmation of cross-border friendship, and met online first before meeting in person at the Peace Arch this March, along with other-like-minded residents from both sides of the line.
It's, above all, a gathering to celebrate solidarity, Landry said.
“Sometimes governments come down on the wrong side of history, and it’s important our American friends understand that we didn’t want it to be this way and neither do many of them," she noted.
"We want to make sure every British Columbian and Washingtonian knows they’re welcome to come down to support friendship across our border.”
Smith said he is doing whatever he can in Washington State to take a stand against recent U.S. policies.
“I’ve been going to Canada since I was a little kid and I have so many friends up there, what’s happening is terrible," he said.
"The rhetoric of a '51st state' is heartbreaking. I can see us destroying a relationship with an ally that has come to our aid every time we asked and it just shouldn’t be happening.”
For her part, Landry said she has been heartened by the expressions of friendship she has seen from Americans she has met at the regular Saturday gatherings.
“When we do the hockey lineup handshake at the end of each rally, I’ve had grown American men weep as they take my hand. It’s an emotional time for many of them.”
