This year, some official Remembrance Day ceremonies returned for community members to honour those who have fallen in the line of duty.
West Kelowna had an official event at Royal LePage Place.
The event was held by the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 288. It was a special ceremony for President Anne Fox.
“It was good but it was also sad because (my late father is not here). I had his beret with me on the podium and it helped me focus and make sure everything went to plan,” said Fox, Royal Canadian Legion Branch 288’s president.
One Navy veteran says the support they receive from the community resonates with him and he believes the youth are doing their part in remembering and honouring.
“The kids came out in droves. It was wonderful. This community seems to rally behind November 11,” said Barry Proud, a Navy veteran.
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A couple hundred people attended the ceremony, which paid tribute with poems, speeches and wreath-laying.
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In Kelowna, there was no official ceremony but hundreds congregated at the cenotaph at City Park.
“Very, very important to be here because they gave our lives so we could be here,” said a family at the ceremony.
“They fought for our lives, my daughter’s life. We want to thank them. I want to thank my great-grandfather, my wife’s brothers and all the great men and women who died in war.”
One veteran shared that it’s important to remember that Nov. 11 is not only for those who have fallen but those who have served and continue to serve.
“We have men and women doing peace-keeping tours. I know guys that have done four, five, six peace-keeping tours. They gave up a lot and their families gave up a lot, with their husbands or wives going to their theatres (of war),” said Terrence Sander, a Kelowna veteran.
The end of the unofficial ceremony in Kelowna was abruptly cut short by apparent anti-vaccine protesters, who began shouting at the crowd.
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