Wreaths adorned the Port Elgin Cenotaph for the Remembrance Day ceremony in 2019.
Due to COVID-19, the November 11 Remembrance Day ceremonies will look a little different this year.
PORT ELGIN LEGION
The Royal Canadian Legion, Port Elgin Branch 340, will be holding a private service at Cenotaph Park.
"This year, in accordance with Provincial guidelines due to COVID-19 restrictions, we cannot invite the community to share this meaningful occasion of honouring our Veterans; we are only allowed 25 people and this will be enforced as the Legion could be liable under Reg. 364/21 for organizing an outdoor event," read a statement from the Port Elgin Legion.
The service will be live streamed through various SouthPort Church digital feeds:
YouTube: www.youtube.com/southportchurch
Facebook: facebook.com/southport.church
Website: www.myfamily.church
Or call 833-299-0202.
Wreaths will be pre-laid and the public is invited to come and pay their respects at the cenotaph and look at the display between 12 and 2 p.m. November 11. Be sure to follow COVID-19 protocols.
The Port Elgin Legion will be open at 11:30 a.m. on November 11 to Veterans and Legion members only with their spouse or caregiver as they are restricted to only 50 people.
"We thank our community and all the businesses for their continued support throughout the years and we will meet again in 2021," concluded the statement.
SOUTHAMPTON LEGION
Southampton’s annual Remembrance Day parade will not run this year due to COVID-19 restrictions and there will be no public event at the cenotaph.
In a recent statement from the Southampton Legion Branch 155, only a handful of people will be on hand at the cenotaph for a much smaller ceremony, as the Legion encourages the public not to attend.
The remembrance dinner at the Southampton Legion Hall typically held on Remembrance Day also won’t be happening this year.
"It’s disheartening for sure but we have to follow the rules like everyone else," said Mike Jukes, President of the Southampton Legion Branch 155.
Wreaths will be pre-laid at the cenotaph prior to the event. People wishing to lay their wreath individually can do so after the ceremony. Anyone wishing to have their wreath set aside can contact Stewart Shular at 519-797-3956. The Legion will be happy to collect the wreaths in the afternoon and place them back into safe storage for future use.
"It is still very important to mark the day. We are very hopeful and invite people to participate in other ways. Wearing poppies and recognizing two minutes of silence at 11:00 a.m. on Nov. 11. Watching ceremonies on TV or online," read the statement.
"We thank our community and all the Southampton businesses for their continued support throughout the years. We will remember," the statement concluded.
SAUGEEN FIRST NATION
Saugeen First Nation is holding a private ceremony at their Cenotaph, with attendance limited to those participating in the ceremony itself, such as speakers, singers, etc. For everyone else, the event will be broadcast on Facebook Live on the Saugeen First Nation #29 Education page, and will also be recorded for viewing at a later date.
A statement from Saugeen First Nation said that families and staff are being asked to lay their wreath ahead of the ceremony (before 10am) or after the ceremony (after 12pm) and that a list of who the wreaths are being laid for, or on behalf of, will be read aloud.
"We will not be having our usual luncheon following the service," read the statement. "The Facebook Live event is open to the public," it concluded.
PORT ELGIN LEGION JOINS TOLMIE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Also this year due to COVID-19, Port Elgin Legion Branch 340 joined the Tolmie Presbyterian Church Remembrance Day Service November 8 to honour fallen veterans and those who continue to serve.
The service was livestreamed at 8 a.m. and will remain available for viewing for one year at youtube.com/watch?v=d8tjO738aL4.
A previous version of this story stated that the Remembrance Day Service at Tolmie Presbyterian Church was being held November 15 when in fact it was November 8. The information has been corrected above.
