FILE PHOTO - Veterans are seen at the Remembrance Day ceremony at the Cenotaph in Kelowna, Nov. 11, 2015.
Image Credit: FILE PHOTO
November 04, 2020 - 10:58 AM
Kelowna’s Remembrance Day ceremony has been cancelled this year due to COVID-19.
The legion had originally planned a small ceremony at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11 at the cenotaph in City Park, and had asked residents to honour veterans by taking a moment at their homes.
“The City wouldn’t let us run our scaled-down Remembrance Day because of COVID, which is understandable, so our current plan is (veterans) will lay the wreaths at the cenotaph at 9 a.m. that morning and then we will have a scaled-down ceremony indoors at the legion and that will be primarily for veterans on an invite basis,” Royal Canadian Legion Branch 26 president John Sokolowski said.
READ MORE: Remembrance Day is going to look at lot different in Kamloops, Okanagan this year
He said the City told organizers there was a concern with crowd control and social distancing. Because of the event, you would still have gatherings outside of the controlled area and regulating that would be difficult, he said.
“What I would encourage people to do, is at 11 a.m. stand outside your door and observe a moment of silence,“ Sokolowski said. "It’s extremely challenging for everybody, but we can only do what we’re allowed to do."
READ MORE: Field of Crosses returns to Kelowna Cenotaph
For the third year, the Field of Crosses will see 240 white crosses installed in City Park, close to the Kelowna Cenotaph, to commemorate the lives of the Canadian Armed Forces personnel who lost their lives in the service of their country.
With now traditional ceremony, Sokolowski is encouraging the public to wander through the crosses in City Park instead.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.
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