St. Stephen’s portion of the International Homecoming Festival parade remains in limbo as the municipality seeks more entries as a last-ditch effort to save it.

According to Kevin Sumner, the Municipal District of St. Stephen’s (MDSS) community services director, the registration date had passed for floats.

“We’ve seen, as [we did] last year, a significant decrease in the number, even from last year,” he said to the council. “We had some comments last year. There was a lot of positives about it, but there were a lot of negatives about it.”

The festival brings together St. Stephen and Calais – celebrating the area’s unique connection between Canada and the United States, with events taking place on both sides of the border. It has gone on since 1974.

“The downside is that if this doesn’t happen, it’s unlikely that it will be able to come back. It’s almost been grandfathered in, quite a unique situation,” he said.

Sumner said Michelle Vest, the town’s events coordinator, and Patti Anderson have been making calls, sending out emails and posts on social media, but haven’t been successful in getting the numbers needed to run the parade.

“It’s completely opposite [of] the Santa parade in December,” he said. “We’re seeing 55-plus floats coming out. In summertime, people are busy.”

“It needs something and we’re not seeing that right now,” he said.

The council was asked to consider cancelling the parade last week at a regular council meeting ahead of an Alertable posted Saturday, asking for more entries.

It said it was investigating the possibility of allowing the parade to move forward.

The council’s discussion

Deputy Mayor Ghislane Wheaton said some people have felt crossing the border is too complicated and they are choosing not to be a part of the parade.

“This has happened both on the American side and this side,” she said. “It’s very sad to see it go, but I think it would be very small this year.”

Coun. Wade Greenlaw asked whether the request was to cancel for this year only.

But Sumner said it is only for this year, but U.S. customs has told them it likely will not be allowed again if it is stopped.

The Courier has reached out to the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol for comment and is awaiting a response.

Coun. Emily Rodas said Calais and St. Stephen have both wanted to maintain a close friendship despite the greater exterior political climate.

Canada and the U.S. are ensnared in a trade war, which continues to escalate under Donald Trump’s administration. It has meant tensions between the two countries and a high number of Canadians choosing not to cross the border.

“For me, I think it speaks to just a larger desire to maintain a strong connection between two countries even in the face of all the hardship happening around it,” Rodas said.

She said the decision feels like a devastating one, having grown up in St. Stephen.

Coun. Brian Cornish said he felt he didn’t want to push the button on this too soon, saying his half a century in the area has him wanting to keep all options open.

“Keep the gates open,” he said. “Because I feel real bad about what’s going on on both sides of the border.”

Mayor Allan MacEachern said this might seem like it is connected to what is happening between the two neighbouring countries, but the parade has been dying out for years.

“The only way to liven it up is to talk about it here tonight,” he said. “Maybe that’ll kick start some people and understand the importance of how our communities are as one.

“We don’t want to lose [something] unique.”

Andrea Walton, the U.S. chairperson of the International Homecoming Committee, said the Calais side was not aware of the decision made by council, which she felt had misinformation, saying Calais always intended on coming over to celebrate.

Asking for more participants

The parade is only one aspect of the International Homecoming Festival, Wheaton explained, saying the festival will be great without the parade.

The Alertable message shared on Saturday comes after a vote of six to one to reallocate resources to a street festival.

“After hearing from numerous businesses and organizations who’ve expressed their willingness to step up and contribute a float, the Municipal District of St. Stephen is now prepared to investigate whether municipal resources can be dedicated to moving forward with this year’s parade,” it read.

The parade has 12 confirmed entries with 3 floats and nine groups made up of cars, ATVs, trucks and walkers.

“Notably, half of these entries are from our friends across the border who are excited to join us in celebration,” it read.

The municipality needs 12 to 15 more entries and it is encouraging businesses to work together in the event that putting something together in the summer season is challenging.

The deadline to submit is Wednesday, Aug. 6, at noon.