Normally, thousands of people gather at the Moncton Coliseum for Remembrance Day, but this year there will only be 100 veterans, and dignitaries and they will be by invite only.
Moncton Legion Branch 6 President Bob Dupuis says they were unsure at one point whether this ceremony was going to happen at all…due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“Remembrance is a must. I was going to have a ceremony in front of the Legion anyway, but the City of Moncton told me that we could have it televised. We could have no more than a hundred at the Coliseum, but we could make it happen. So Remembrance is very, very important,” Dupuis says.
It will be televised on Rogers TV starting at 10:30, and shared on the City of Moncton Facebook page.
Dupuis says, “The ceremony itself will be much the same as in the past, but the wreaths will already be laid in the front and we will just acknowledge the wreaths. We had to jump through lot of hoops to make sure it was safe for everyone, Everybody will be wearing masks. The 100 seats will be distanced. There will be no cadet cores or children.”
The Sunny Brae Royal Canadian Legion branch 54 will be holding a much smaller service as well.
There will be no veterans parade this year. Crosses and wreaths will all be pre-arranged before the ceremony and only Legion members will be participating.
In Riverview, a small Remembrance Day ceremony will be held at the Town Hall monument.
It has been organized by the Veterans and Armed Forces Association, for members and guests only.
“Our Association and Town believe it is paramount that we hold a ceremony to honour our Veterans and their sacrifices, especially with this being the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War,” said Retired Colonel Bill Hanson.
It will be recorded and also livestreamed on the Riverview Fire and Rescue You Tube channel starting at 10:45.
In Dieppe, a virtual ceremony will be held by the Dieppe Military Veterans Association. It will be available at 11 a.m. via Facebook live on the City of Dieppe Facebook page.
