It may have been Independence Day south of the border, but for Port Angeles – the “lost American suburb of Victoria” – it was an opportunity to celebrate its deep ties with its true north, strong and free neighbours.
To mark the occasion, a delegation of tourism leaders from Victoria joined Black Ball Ferry Line representatives to lead the Port Angeles 4th of July parade.
Among them were Destination Greater Victoria’s CEO Paul Nursey, plus folks from Gray Line Sightseeing, Hotel Grand Pacific, Huntingdon Hotel & Suites, Inn at Laurel Point, Malahat SkyWalk, Off the Eaten Food Track and Victoria Butterfly Gardens.
This year’s theme was ‘Celebrating connections across nations, cultures and coastlines’, highlighting the enduring relationship between Port Angeles, Victoria and the broader community of Vancouver Island.
“We are truly honoured to have been invited by the Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce to serve as this year's parade grand marshals,” said a spokesperson from Black Ball Ferry Line, which operates the MV Coho. “We, along with our Victoria partners, had a great time at the parade celebrating our cross-border friendships.”
For Sam Grello, executive director of Port Angeles Waterfront District, it was heartwarming to see Canadians on American soil – an increasingly rare sight since tensions erupted between the U.S. and Canada as a result of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
“While stuff is happening from our end that can feel a little provocative, to see folks come down to our country and help us celebrate on a day when maybe not everybody's feeling like celebrating, felt really good,” he said.
“And it’s a nice reminder of the strong bond between our two communities.”
So it was no surprise that Port Angeles was “chomping at the bit" to celebrate Victoria and Canada.
“The folks from Victoria were throwing Maynard and other Canadian candy, and kids were scrambling for it,” says Grello.
“There's quite a healthy black market for Canadian candy here in Port Angeles.”
Away from the parade, Canadians continued to make their mark.
A hot dog eating contest was dominated by a competitive food eater from Kelowna, Scott Watkins, whose online persona goes by the name of Scott Eats.
“He came down and he destroyed all the local competition, like destroyed it,” Grello said.
In front of a 300-strong crowd, Watkins made fast work of 30 hot dogs, devouring them in 10 minutes.
“The nearest competitor had eaten 12,” said an impressed Grello.
With Trump continuing to make waves, Grello says Port Angeles has seen its international tourism market shrink.
Canadians are still visiting, he says, but not in the numbers they are used to.
“People don't have spare loonies in their cashier drawers right now … that’s a pretty good indicator,” he adds.
Other nationalities appear to be keeping their distance too.
“We're not hearing German or Japanese in our coffee shops right now,” says Grello.
The impact has also been felt by Black Ball Ferry Line, which, because of “current travel demand”, delayed the launch of its full summer sailing schedule for the MV Coho until the end of June.
But it’s not all bad news, Port Angeles has seen an uptick in domestic visitors, with Americans looking to vacation closer to home.
“The domestic tourism has kind of replaced some of that international tourism, but we are not at the same level,” says Grello.
While the political climate may be keeping some Canadians away, the Port Angeles community is playing the long game.
Grello says locals understand the reasons behind the boycott – for them it's less about the loss in tourism dollars, and more about keeping the home fires burning for their Victoria neighbours, ready for when things return to normal.
"We really like you guys, and we've missed you guys," he says. “And we can't wait for things to settle down where it makes sense for folks to travel, and it's not a moral quandary to come visit us.”
