Holiday Monday’s droplets of rain, deteriorating into an outright downpour, didn’t keep thousands away from Fort Langley’s annual May Day celebrations.

This year, the Village’s May Day parade and festivities marked a milestone – 90 years.

Fort Langley May Day began 90 years ago when Alex Houston and his wife hosted the party on their property on the river in front of their home (now the restored Houston House) on Allard Crescent.

Years have rolled by, as has a variety of parade entrants and participants, and the community spirit remains the same, regardless of what Mother Nature has up her sleeve.

Royalty came in the form of new and retiring May Queens and a Queen Mother, with a crowning after the parade which travelled south down Glover Road, finding temporary shelter under the canopy of trees that line the front of Fort Langley cemetery. There was May pole dancing, amusement rides, a birthday cake, and vendors for visitors who decided to stick around.

The Fort Langley National Historic Site was also part of the fun this year, with free admission all day.

While this is the 90th annual May Day in Fort Langley, it isn’t the 90th consecutive year of celebration.

War interrupted the flow of May Day activities on May 14, 1942.

May Day celebrations were cancelled because of wartime restrictions on gasoline and rubber, which prevented school buses from being made available to transport children to and from the event.