Small, private Remembrance ceremony at cenotaph this year

Remembrance Day, like everything else, will look different this year.

Traditionally, the ceremony takes place at the cenotaph in front of the Civic Centre where members of the public are encouraged to attend and lay wreaths for those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

“The importance of a live ceremony honouring our veterans and their sacrifices is considered paramount by the Legion, especially during the 75^th anniversary of the end of the Second World War,” reads a statement from the Legion.

“At a time when we have all been isolated for months by the pandemic, ensuring the symbolism of the Legion and community leaders paying homage to our veterans is more important than ever.”

However, this year, the heartfelt ceremony will be much smaller and for the first time in the history of the event, the public and spectators will be discouraged from attending, asked instead to watch a live stream of the event from home.

A few other significant changes include no members of the Cadets or Junior Rangers being present, with an Honour Guard instead consisting of Rocky Mountain Rangers out of Kamloops.

Wreaths will not be placed by members of the public, instead a member of the RCMP will bring the wreath forward and it will be positioned at the cenotaph by a Legion representative.

Finally, the area around the cenotaph and parking lot between the Civic Centre and City Hall will be cordoned off, with only those participating in the ceremony permitted.

The ceremony will be live streamed on the City of Merritt Facebook page. Following the Remembrance Day Celebrations, the video will be made available on the City of Merritt website.