Gold Cup Parade
Led by 2025 Parade Marshal Lennie Gallant
Charlottetown’s streets will come alive with rhythm, creativity, and community spirit as the Gold Cup Parade returns on August 15 at 10 am. This year’s theme, Let the Music Move You, invites participants to celebrate the power of music through float design, performance, and energy. Leading the celebration will be none other than Island music icon Lennie Gallant, named the 2025 Parade Marshal.
The Parade Marshal is an honorary title awarded to someone who has made a positive, lasting impact on the Island community and serves as a strong ambassador for PEI. As one of Atlantic Canada’s most celebrated songwriters, Lennie has released fifteen albums of original songs, earning a host of awards and nominations from the JUNOs, Les Prix Éloizes, and the ECMAs. His song “Peter’s Dream” was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and his work has even orbited the Earth aboard the International Space Station. With a career rooted in powerful storytelling and unforgettable melodies, Lennie truly embodies this year’s parade theme.
“It’s quite an honour to be asked,” says Gallant, who grew up with harness racing playing a role in his childhood. “One of my dad’s best friends was Alyre Pineau, who was a big part of the racing scene at the Charlottetown track. His son David and I often snuck into the Old Home Week events in the back of Alyre’s big truck along with a couple of the horses he was slated to race that night.”
Returning to the Gold Cup Parade this year is the oldest and largest youth marching band in Canada, the Burlington Teen Tour Band. The parade also coincides with National Acadian Day, and attendees will be treated to a lively tintamarre and several musical floats showcasing PEI’s vibrant Acadian community.