Parade to salute Knights

The next party for Londoners and their beloved London Knights is a parade tomorrow.r

The Memorial Cup champs won’t ride on fire trucks.r

The Knights, who won the Cup by defeating the Rimouski Oceanic 4-0 in the championship game, will be walking so they can “shake hands, give high-fives and kiss babies,” said Stefanie Turnbull, the Knights’ marketing director.r

The parade begins at 5:30 p.m. from the John Labatt Centre.r

The players will walk down King Street to Wellington Street, across to Dundas Street and down Talbot Street to the Covent Garden Market square.r

Turnbull said the Labatt Blue Cube — a retrofit of a Labatt transport trailer complete with a sound system — will be used as a stage for each player to address the crowd.r

A marching band will accompany the Knights and an honour guard will carry the trophy.r

Turnbull said the parade was scheduled for the Knights, win or lose.r

Richard Ireland of Dorchester said he’ll be in downtown London for the parade.r

“We deserve it. The kids deserve it. I went to my first game in 1964 when they were the Nationals. It’s been a long time coming.”r