Organizers of Okotoks’ Remembrance Day ceremony are moving the event to a new venue to make room for the large crowds coming out to honour the sacrifices of Canadian soldiers.
The ceremony is moving to the Pason Centennial Arena to accommodate the crowd, which has outgrown the Foothills Centenial Centre.
The Foothills Centennial Centre’s seating capacity of 1,200 could no longer accommodate the number of people attending Remembrance Day services. Many arrived more than an hour early to get a seat at the standing-room-only ceremonies and some were forced to stand in the hallway or were even unable to get through the door, said Susan Laurin, Okotoks community services director.
Pason Centennial Arena seats 1,400 people in the stands and an additional 800 to 1,000 people in the floor-seating area, doubling the capacity of the ceremony, she said.
“It will make the whole event much more enjoyable to attend because it’s designed to hold that many people,” said Laurin. “It has the appropriate seating and air circulation. People won’t have to go two hours early just to get a seat this year.”
Okotoks council agreed to waive the cost to host the ceremony at the larger venue at its Aug. 17 meeting. The total cost of the event will be about $11,000, which is approximately $7,000 more than 2014.
Laurin said the extra cost is a result of renting audio-visual equipment and chairs for floor seating, as well as the labour cost of installing the on-ice decking floor system and stage.
“Council agreed to waive the additional rental and labour costs because they felt the move was necessary for the community,” said Laurin.
Legion member and event organizer Malcolm Hughes is grateful to the Town for its generosity and support in putting together the community Remembrance Day service.
This year’s ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. and the doors open at 9:30 a.m.
A Calgary-based band will provide music as a video based on military efforts and memorial photos of fallen soldiers plays prior to the marching of the guard.
The service will be a little different than past years, Hughes said, more in keeping with a traditional Legion ceremony.
“We will not have speakers this year, that is one of the things people will see change,” he said. “This is for the veterans and to remember those who sacrificed themselves for us. It is focused on remembrance.”
Hughes said the program will begin after the parade of colours and will include prayers and community singing led by three community choirs – the Big Rock Singers, the Okotoks Men’s Chorus and the Okotoks Philharmonic Chorus.
In keeping with Legion tradition, everyone in attendance is encouraged to sing along with the traditional hymns, he said.
“This is all part of the Legion’s protocol and we are following a traditional Legion service,” said Hughes.
The program will run until Last Post is heard at 11 a.m., followed by the laying of the wreaths and the marching off of the guard to close the ceremony, he said.
He said the Okotoks Legion is looking forward to holding its event in a larger venue and accommodating more community members to share in an important day.
Turner Valley Service
The Turner Valley Legion is also upholding tradition on Nov. 11 with a Remembrance Day service beginning at 10:30 a.m. at Oilfields High School in Black Diamond.
The ceremony is typically attended by an average of 450 to 500 people from the surrounding area, said Turner Valley first vice-president Linda Macaulay.
Following the ceremony at Oilfields, a second sub-ceremony will be held at the cenotaph outside the Turner Valley Legion.
“At the cenotaph, people can lay wreaths for their family members in remembrance of those who served,” said Macaulay.
A social hour with lunch will be held in the Turner Valley Legion following the cenotaph ceremony and the public is welcome to attend.
