NEWS RELEASE
CITY OF BARRIE
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To honour and recognize those who have served our country, Barrie’s Royal Canadian Legion branch and the City of Barrie join communities across Canada in commemorating Remembrance Day.
The city invites the public to visit the Remembrance Day vigil at Memorial Square, hosted on Nov. 10 from 7 p.m. to midnight and on Nov. 11 from 6 to 8 a.m. Five cadets in rotating shifts will stand vigil at the cenotaph in Memorial Square.
The city also invites the public to participate in the Remembrance Day parade and ceremony on Nov. 11 at 10 a.m. The parade will start along Dunlop Street at Mulcaster and march to the Five Points intersection, halting in front of the cenotaph in Memorial Square for the ceremony. During the ceremony, a feu de joie (blank gunfire consisting of a rifle salute) will take place. Two minutes of silence will be observed at 11 a.m. followed by the ceremony and laying of wreaths.
If members of the community, local organizations or businesses would like to lay a wreath at the Memorial Square cenotaph, they are asked to make arrangements in advance with the legion. Following the ceremony, wreaths will be respectfully placed at the cenotaph. Wreaths will be removed on Nov. 15 at 4 p.m. (subject to change). The public is reminded if they would like to keep their wreath to please pick it up beforehand.
The city honours the military in many ways, including through the poppy crosswalk, installed in November 2021. The artwork — featuring poppies, the symbol of Remembrance Day — is at the crosswalk across from the cenotaph at Memorial Square (at the base of Owen Street).
The city also honours, remembers and commemorates Barrie’s fallen soldiers by featuring pictures of local veterans on flags temporarily displayed throughout Meridian Place and around the entire waterfront to Tiffin Street. This year, 24 new flags were added to the series.
The city invites residents to learn more about the streets across Barrie named in honour of local soldiers, through the Poppies on Street Signs online map. Through the map, residents can learn about the soldiers who are memorialized through street names, including information like their occupation, rank and memorial location.
Veterans also ride Barrie Transit free of charge, with one companion, all day on Remembrance Day by showing anything that identifies their status as a veteran.
Here are some other ways you can reflect, honour and remember on Nov. 11:
- tune into the National Remembrance Day Ceremony, or a livestreamed local ceremony on Rogers TV or CTV Barrie;
- observe two minutes of silence at 11 a.m. from wherever you are;
- wear a poppy and support the Poppy Campaign;
- learn about Remembrance Day and the stories of those we honour;
- send a note to a veteran through Postcards for Peace or write a message to those currently serving in the Canadian Armed Forces;
- enjoy programming from the Barrie Public Library, including Indigenous Military History with Major (Ret'd) Bob Crane, online and Making Remembrance Day Relevant with Major Gregory Lee, CAF, in person at the Painswick branch;
- submit a photo of a relative or friend for the legion’s Virtual Wall of Honour and Remembrance.
For more information, visit barrie.ca/RemembranceDay.
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