Remembrance Day is often a day filled with tradition, ceremony and thoughtfulness, and that is true in Ladysmith and Chemainus.
In Ladysmith, Royal Canadian Legion members will parade from the Legion Hall to the Cenotaph at 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 11. The memorial service at the Cenotaph will begin at 10:50 a.m.
Leading up to Remembrance Day, Legion members will be out in the community to honour their fellow veterans and servicemen and women in various ways.
The Legion Colour Party and Band will visit Ladysmith Secondary School Nov. 7 at 10:45 a.m.
The Legion will host a For King and Country Remembrance Day Veteran’s Dinner Nov. 8 at the Legion at 621 First Ave. Tickets are $25, or free for veterans, and are available at the Legion.
The evening begins with cocktails at 3:30 p.m. Dinner will be at 5 p.m., and speakers will begin their presentations at 6 p.m.
There will be a Remembrance Day service Nov. 9 at 10 a.m. at St. Phillips Anglican Church, and on Nov. 10, the Legion Colour Party and Band will visit LaRosa Gardens at 10:30 a.m. and then Lodge on 4th at 2 p.m.
In Chemainus, people coming to the Remembrance Day service on Nov. 11 are asked to arrive at the Cenotaph around 10:30 a.m. or 10:40 a.m. The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 191 Colour Party will march to the Cenotaph and will be piped in by the Cowichan Pipes and Drums, explained branch president Wes Everitt.
Everitt says younger children and high school students are often involved in the services, and this year will be special because he hopes a number of the Chemainus Secondary School students who travelled to Europe this summer to visit cemeteries and battlefields will be part of the service.
Following the service, there will be lunch for the veterans at the Legion Hall, then entertainment in the lounge from 2-6 p.m.
The Legion Colour Party started visiting area schools on Nov. 3. The Legion will take part in a church parade Nov. 9 at Chemainus United Church at noon, where they will have a memorial service and dedicate a bench to their late padre, Fran Darling. At 1 p.m., Legion members will place poppies on the graves of veterans at the Chemainus Cemetery.
“It’s a very special time where we remember and honour not only our fallen comrades but also servicemen and women who served in Korea, peacekeeping missions and Afghanistan and have returned,” said Everitt. “That’s our job — to look after our servicemen and women and our veterans.”