The door is still open for Nelson’s grad cavalcade to return, but things will have to change.
The annual tradition, which dates back to at least the 1990s, was called off for 2027 after the grad committee learned the Nelson Police Department would be withdrawing their support.
Deputy Chief Jason Jewkes said the department’s main concern is alcohol consumption during the parade, including underage drinking and graduates becoming visibly intoxicated.
Jewkes said he witnessed several graduates who could barely walk following the 2025 cavalcade and grand march.
“I won’t paint all of the grads over the last few years with that brush, but I would say probably 33 per cent, maybe 50 per cent of them were openly enjoying alcohol, some of them to the point of total inebriation,” said Jewkes.
“In 2025, I witnessed a group of probably about four or five grads that were in a position that they could barely walk after the cavalcade and the grand march, and it just put us in a bad position liability-wise.”
He said concerns have been building for years, with the issue becoming more pronounced since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jewkes also described officers facing verbal abuse while trying to address safety concerns.
He said officers saw adults running up to vehicles in the parade to hand alcohol to students. When an officer tried to intervene, they were met with disrespect.
“The police officer attempted to speak to them to just say, you know, ‘Cut it out. We want this to run smoothly. We want this to continue,’ and he was met with swearing, yelling and just disrespect in general,” said Jewkes. “And it was from not only the adults that were there, it was from the students that were also participating.”
The department typically assigns six officers to the cavalcade, a significant commitment for a force of 26 officers.
Jewkes said police warned the 2026 grad committee the event could be cancelled or modified if the problems continued.
“That messaging was quite clear from the police, from the school, and from the grad committee. They were very aware, so this shouldn’t come as a shock to, I’ll say, a majority of the people that have been involved in the cavalcade or the Grade 11 parents,” said Jewkes.
He said the department is open to discussing alternatives, including a dry cavalcade or a different graduation celebration.
“I think it needs to be the students that lead this charge,” said Jewkes.
Jewkes acknowledges some parents and community members feel the decision is too strict and that grads should be allowed to enjoy the milestone. However, he believes the decision has started an important conversation about alcohol consumption and minors.
“We live in a community that, that suffers an open addiction issue. So are we encouraging that by allowing teenagers to openly drink and consume to the point of being intoxicated in public? I don’t know, but I think it’s a conversation that needs to be had between the community, and I sort of think this is the lead to that,” he said.
Jewkes also recognizes alcohol will be part of some graduation celebrations, even though he doesn’t agree with it.
But he said the parade, with moving vehicles and members of the public nearby, isn’t the place for it.
“I was a kid once too, I totally get it and I understand there will be grad festivities that include alcohol, do I agree with it? No, but I understand but again, it’s the time and place,” said Jewkes. “I want them to celebrate their graduation, but I think they can do that dry in that particular portion of the grad ceremonies.”
He said police want students to take the lead in finding a solution, whether that’s a dry cavalcade or a different kind of celebration.
“The Nelson Police Department, are gonna put a lot of the onus on the students. It’s going to be a student-led initiative, and I think it needs to be.”
He emphasized that the department has not ruled out the event returning in some form.
“We haven’t closed the chapter yet, so keep an open mind but keep the conversation going.”
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