The Callander Legion Remembrance Day service begins Thursday morning at 9:30, with a nondenominational service in the Legion’s Main Hall.
Around 10:45, a parade begins from the Legion and marches to the cenotaph, about a six-minute walk away at parade speed, “just down Lansdowne,” Legion President Marc Picard said.
“It’s a big parade,” he noted, with usually about 50 people taking part. This year “we’re very fortunate that the North Bay Police colour party and the Nipissing EMS colour party are going to join us.”
The EMS contingent is “the only all-female colour party in Canada,” Picard said, before clarifying that a colour party refers to the flag bearers.
“They’re the first people behind the band,” he said, and “the pipe band always leads the parade.”
Once at the cenotaph, the Remembrance Day Service begins. Afterward, attendees are welcome to return to the Legion for refreshments.
It should be noted that the events within the Legion will require a vaccine passport for entry.
“With a lot of the restrictions lightened this year,” Picard said, “we hope to see lots of people, as opposed to last year when we had a fairly scaled back service.”
“It’s our most important day of the year, and it’s always nice when we see lots of people come out.”
After the service, Picard and “a few of us” from the Legion will head to East Ferris and Bonfield to ensure there are wreaths laid at the community cenotaphs, “because they’re not having big services this year.”
“We always make sure that our cenotaphs have a tribute paid at them,” he emphasized, “and our Legion covers Callander, East Ferris, and Bonfield.”
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
