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Sudbury Arena Remembrance Day service cancelled, but there will be a virtual event

And there will be several smaller, in-person services
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The 2018 Sudbury Arena Remembrance Day ceremony is pictured here. (File)

Sudbury’s traditional Remembrance Day Service, held annually at the Sudbury Community Arena downtown on Nov. 11, has officially been cancelled due to COVID-19.

“It has been confirmed, as of (this week), by the City of (Greater) Sudbury that we will not be able to host our usual service at the Sudbury Arena,” said Jennifer Huard, president of the Royal Canadian Legion Lockerby Branch 564.

“However, local Legion branches will still be holding smaller Remembrance Day services where we will follow all COVID-19 protocols, including social distancing.”

The annual Remembrance Day service is organized each year by Royal Canadian Legion Branch 564 and Branch 76 in honour of Canadian veterans and armed forces who died in the line of duty.

This year, physical distancing regulations, as well as limitations on the number of people allowed to gather indoors mean that the thousands of citizens that usually attend the Remembrance Day service will no longer be allowed to congregate.

Instead, local Legion branches are working hard to organize alternative ceremonies for the Sudbury community.

In addition to the smaller ceremonies that will be held at local Legion halls, Branch 76 Sudbury and Lockerby Legion Branch 564, in collaboration with UN NATO Veterans, are planning a special virtual ceremony that will be broadcast throughout the city.

“During Remembrance week, our Legionnaires are quite busy doing services throughout the city at schools, retirement homes, nursing homes, and long-term care homes, for example. This year, because of COVID-19, they are unable to do so,” said Huard.

“So, what we are doing is filming a virtual ceremony. It’s going to be a professional production, and after it’s finished, we are going to be able to cascade that back into the community. The people who are unable to get out will still be able to observe remembrance.”

Huard said that while it’s unfortunate that the traditional ceremony will not be held downtown, “it’s just the way it is right now.”

“As long as people continue to observe Remembrance Day, that’s the important thing,” she said.

“People are unable to get out like they used to, and many people are not comfortable doing so. The safety of our citizens is most important. We can be creative, and we can find other ways to help people remember, and that’s what we’re doing.”

The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 76 Sudbury will be holding a smaller Remembrance Day Service at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11 at 1553 Weller St.

The Lockerby Legion Branch 564 will be holding its ceremony at 1 p.m. on Nov. 11 at 2200 Long Lake Road.

The virtual Remembrance Day Service will be filmed in Memorial Park this Sunday at 10 a.m. by a subsidiary of Café Heritage, which will be providing videography, sound, and photography services for the webcast.

The virtual ceremony will be broadcast at locations throughout the city on Nov. 11, and it will also be available on Facebook and at www.cafeheritage.ca.

Colleen Romaniuk is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter at the Sudbury Star. The Local Journalism Initiative is made possible through funding from the federal government.


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About the Author: Colleen Romaniuk, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Colleen Romaniuk is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, a Government of Canada program, at the Sudbury Star.
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