Remembrance Day at the Kelowna Museums

Red poppies on lapels, decorated veterans at supermarket entrances – sure signs that Remembrance Day is around the corner. We’ll be marking the day in Kelowna with ceremonies at the Cenotaph in City Park as well as in Rutland Lions Park, and a minute of silence at 11:00 a.m. this morning. This year, officials are expecting a large turnout to the parade and Cenotaph ceremonies, given the sizeable attendance last year (one of the largest ever in Kelowna), and the recent tragedy of the death of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo just a few weeks ago in Ottawa.

We all have our own thoughts around what Remembrance Day means to each of us. Here’s a meaningful way to gain perspective, and try on those shoes (if not walk a mile in them) of the people who fought in WWI and WWII: visit the Okanagan Military Museum as part of your Remembrance Day ritual. There’s so much to learn about what our veterans experienced so that we can live freely today.

(Photo by Tracy Satin)

The new Westbank First Nations Veterans Monument was unveiled on November 4.

Today for Remembrance Day, the Okanagan Military Museum in downtown Kelowna will be offering guided tours of the military exhibits at the Okanagan Military Museum between 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. The current exhibit is “The Bugle Sounds” and is focused on World War I. These tours will take place at noon, 1:00 and 2:00 p.m., and they are for all ages.

There will also be a Remembrance Day ceremony today (November 10) at 10:30 at 1900 Quail Lane (Westbank First Nation Health and Wellness Building – at the top of the parking lot) centered around the new Veterans Monument that was just unveiled last week by Westbank First Nation. This stately steel sculpture by Colville Confederate Tribe artist Smoker Marchand, honours Okanagan First Nation Veterans who have served, those who presently serve, and those who will serve, in the Canadian armed forces.

However you choose to mark the day, I encourage you to stop what you’re doing at 11:00 a.m. and to take a minute to reflect on our freedoms or perhaps on the sacrifices made by a member of your family or circle of friends. Lest we forget…

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.