Welcome Ceremony: Musqueam Speaker. Vancouver OFFICIAL Representative
MC: Musqueam Speaker & Veterans- Robert Nahanee, Jamie Thomas, Indigenous VETERANS
Wreath Laying Ceremony
11:11 MOMENT OF SILENCE
Bugle, Dignitary Tributes, 12:00 noon – end of Cenotaph ceremony
There is a reception at The Aboriginal Friendship Centre, 1607 East Hastings, is open from 12:00 to 3:00 pm with tributes and community honours, including all Nations drummers: Plains and West Coast drummers, honouring, praying, singing, and paying tribute. All are welcome!
Victory Square’s Remembrance Day Service is the oldest continuing annual ceremony in Vancouver, beginning in 1924.
The Remembrance Day ceremonies usually begin at 10:00 am or just before with a performance by the Vancouver Bach Choir’s Youth, Chorus and/or Sarabande choirs. Hundreds of veterans, cadets and present-day officers then march with flags and in their uniforms along a block or so of Cambie Street into Victory Square and to the Cenotaph.
The arrival of all the various marching groups takes a bit of time. It’s an impressive scene.
After everyone is finally in position, the official ceremonies take place. That’s when there is a prayer, and a short speech or welcome by a local dignitary or two. After that the Regimental Pipes and Drums of the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada, along with the Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services band, usually give a short performance.
At 11:00 am a bugle plays the Last Post, followed by the traditional two minutes of silence during which time the 15th Field Artillery Regiment’s 21-gun salute can be heard in the distance. This is typically followed by the singing of In Flanders Fields by the Vancouver Bach Choir’s Youth and Sarabande choirs. After that wreaths are laid at the base of the Cenotaph.
The ceremony, from start to finish, lasts for about 90 minutes or a little bit more. Once it finishes, the Vancouver Remembrance Day Parade then begins.
