New look for Nov. 11 services
Remembrance Day services on P.E.I. limited to invited parties only
Remembrance Day services across P.E.I. will be limited to small, invitation-only groups due to the pandemic.
Duane MacEwen, president of the P.E.I. Command of the Royal Canadian Legion, says people are discouraged from attending services for the safety of all.
The service at the cenotaph in Charlottetown in front of Province House that typically draws thousands of people on Nov. 11 should only have Lt.-Gov. Antoinette Perry and roughly 15 invited guests attending, says MacEwen.
“No veterans’ parades, no gatherings back at the Legions,’’ he adds.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic means Summerside’s Remembrance Day ceremony also has had to adapt.
The annual ceremony has traditionally attracted a large crowd to Credit Union Place, but public health concerns have forced organizers to limit public participation in the event this year.
"It’s not a situation anyone wanted, but they feel the changes strike a balance between honouring the spirit of the event and protecting the public,'' said Gordon Perry, president of the George R. Pearkes Royal Canadian Legion Branch #5.
“I’m just thankful we can do something. There are other provinces that are not going to be able to do it at all.”
This year’s ceremony will be held at the Summerside Cenotaph, in Memorial Park, but attendance will be by invitation only. Organizers estimate only about 50 people will take part in the event, and all will be required to wear face masks where social distancing is not possible.
In an effort to shorten the ceremony and reduce the strain on those veterans who are able to attend, the legion is asking those who purchase memorial wreaths to place them on their own, prior to the Nov. 11 ceremony.
MacEwen says the public is asked to lay wreaths at the cenotaphs before or after official ceremonies. He also suggests people stand at the end of their driveways on Remembrance Day and acknowledge the two minutes of silence.
Some churches are putting on their Remembrance Day services on Nov. 8 with Public Health protocols in place.
Services from some branches will either be live streamed or available to be viewed alter on their Facebook page or on You Tube.
On Nov. 11 at 11 a.m., the Legion will offer a Facebook Live presentation of the national Remembrance Day ceremony.
Stratford's ceremony will be held virtually on the municipality's Facebook page.
"The Town of Stratford is proud to honour our veterans, particularly this year which marks the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War,'' says Mayor Steve Ogden.
"Even as we move to a virtual ceremony, we stand strong together to honour the sacrifice of our veterans and those who gave their lives in the service of our community and our country.''
MacEwen says the public can also support veterans by buying poppies and wreaths at businesses throughout the province.
The poppy campaign kicked off Oct. 30. Funds from the annual campaign, which raised $183,000 last year, supports programs for veterans on P.E.I.
“We have always been so well supported by the public,’’ says MacEwen.