Organizers of the virtual version of the annual Remembrance Day service in Langley City’s Douglas park are planning to provide some online extras that include a look at the Fraser Blues flight team and a virtual visit with some veterans at Langley Lodge.
Tera Edell, Langley City recreation supervisor, said all the elements of a traditional Remembrance Day service will be pre-taped at the park, plus a few planned additions that will be “a little bit different.”
They include a video visit with the Fraser Blues flight team which takes part in Remembrance Day fly-pasts, as well as veterans who live at the Langley Lodge residence, where the plan is to have Lodge staff handle the video recording remotely.
“Because they [the veterans] can’t come out and we can’t come in,” Edell explained.
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Langley City announced it will not be holding a public ceremony for Remembrance Day 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the provincial public health order that saw all public gatherings larger than 50 people cancelled or postponed.
In place of the traditional live ceremony, Langley City is producing a pre-recorded rendition of the Remembrance Day ceremony that will be shared online November 11.
While there will be no formal service at the cenotaph on the day, anyone who wants to leave a wreath is welcome, provided they follow COVID-19 social distancing guidelines.
READ ALSO: VIDEO: A stay-at-home Remembrance Day planned for Fort Langley
Langley City Director of Recreation, Culture and Community Services Kim Hilton described it as a “closed ceremony with limited wreath laying” during a presentation to City council.
“People can lay wreaths, but not as part of the official ceremony,” Hilton elaborated.
Wreaths are being sold through the Cloverdale legion.
After the Langley legion shut down due to financial problems, the Royal Canadian Legion reassigned the territory of the closed Branch 21 to Aldergrove and Cloverdale branches.
On November 11, the video version of the event will go live on the Langley City website.
Residents can log in to view it by going to the Langley City website at https://city.langley.bc.ca and clicking on the “Parks & Recreation” tab to open “community events” where the “Remembrance Day” page can be found.
dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
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