Schedule of local events for Remembrance Day weekend
By Gillian Slade on November 3, 2018.
gslade@medicinehatnews.com @MHNGillianSlade Local events for Remembrance Day will commence on Nov. 10, and continue on Nov. 11 with the traditional service at the Esplanade followed by a parade and ceremony at Riverside Veterans Memorial Park. Saturday, Nov. 10 The Esplanade doors open to the public at 1:30 p.m. for a program that starts at 2 p.m. with the ceremonial entrance of the “Colour Parties and the Cadets,” all of whom will be piped in by Piper Cam Clark. The program will include the reading of groups of names taken from the cenotaph and after each group of names a cadet will ring a bell on stage. A selection of appropriate music will be played after each reading. There has been a call in many places around the world for the ringing of bells to commemorate the centenary of the Armistice. During the war the traditional sound of church bells in Europe — on Sundays, or for funerals and weddings — had remained silent. When the Armistice was signed and the celebrations began, bells began ringing once more including that of Big Ben in London. This year many cities will ring bells on Nov. 11, according to online reports. British media report that on the morning of Nov. 11 more than 3,000 bell towers across the UK will ring out with the sound of “half-muffled” bells in solemn memory of those who lost their lives in wars. Sunday, Nov. 11 A service at the Esplanade begins at 9:30 a.m., said Sheila Donner, president of the Royal Canadian Legion, Robertson Memorial Branch No. 17 in Medicine Hat. The fact that we are celebrating 100 years since the Armistice will be specially noted, said Donner. “As president I recognize how important the Armistice was for Canada and the role that Canada played… our men were so strong. Because of their fighting spirit it earned us a place on the peace treaty. That’s when we really became a country,” said Donner. Immediately after the service there will be the traditional parade from the Esplanade down First Street to Riverside Veterans Memorial Park for a ceremony at the cenotaph at 11 a.m. Following the singing of a hymn there will be the laying of wreaths. “Once we recognize all the veterans and government groups then we invite the members of the public to come up and lay their wreaths in memory of their relatives,” said Donner. The ceremony is expected to last about 45 minutes, she said. 17
-16
