There are three Remembrance Day ceremonies taking place in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.
Thousands are expected at the Maple Ridge ceremony which starts at 10:30 a.m. with a parade that begins outside the Royal Canadian Legion, on 224th Street, at Brown Avenue.
Legion Branch 88 is one of the largest in Canada with more than 2,000 members, and the Legion Colour Party leads a procession to the cenotaph.
The legion marchers are joined by a pipe band, veterans, cadets, RCMP officers in red serge, Maple Ridge Fire and Rescue members, and children from local Scouting organizations.
The national anthem will be sung and the roll call is called out, which is the listing of names of local people who have died in wars.
At 11 a.m. there will be a moment of silence.
A bugler will play the “Rouse,” and a piper will play “Lament,” and there will be a reading of the poem “In Flanders Fields,” by Canadian poet John McCrae.
The laying of the wreaths at the cenotaph will follow, with representatives from governments of all levels, representatives of the Legion, armed forces, and others all paying their respects.
A road closure and detour will be in place to accommodate the Remembrance Day parade and ceremony. This detour will be in effect from 9:15 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Motorists are directed to follow detour signs in order to avoid traffic delays.
City hall recommends the people attending the ceremonies either walk or use transit to get to the event.
A Remembrance Day ceremony will be held at Spirit Square in Pitt Meadows, starting at 10:45 a.m. when veterans and officials will march through Spirit Square outside City Hall to the cenotaph.
There will be no seating available during the ceremony. Reserved chairs will be for veterans and those requiring accessible seating only.
If members of the community would like to lay a wreath on Remembrance Day, they are asked to please bring it to the cenotaph by 10 a.m. and make sure it is picked up before dusk. The drive-through lane between Spirit Square and the Pitt Meadows Family Recreation Centre will be closed to traffic from 9 a.m. until noon for the ceremony. People are being asked to park in the north lot or the underground parking.
The ceremony will finish at noon.
A small ceremony will also be taking place in front of the Whonnock Lake Centre.
This ceremony is more intimate, attended mostly by the rural community members, with local children often laying wreaths.
It will begin promptly at 11 a.m., and organizers advise those attending to be there by 10:30 a.m.. There will be opening remarks followed by the reading of the poem “In Flanders Fields,” written by Lt.-Col. John McCrae, followed by the act of remembrance.
“The Last Post” will be played and two minutes of silence will be observed. “The Lament” and the “Reveille/Rouse” will also be played.
And, the “Commitment to Remember” will be recited before the laying of the wreaths – one on behalf of the Whonnock Community and another on behalf of the children of Whonnock.