Every morning and every evening, retired major Kent Griffiths leads a ceremony at Calgary’s Field of Crosses as the event’s master of ceremonies.
The Field of Crosses Memorial is the site of sunrise and sunset ceremonies each day from Nov. 1 leading up to its Remembrance Day event at 10:10 a.m. on Monday. Each day’s ceremonies honour different veteran groups, including the Royal Canadian Air Force, Army, Navy, first responders, UN peacekeepers, women, Indigenous veterans and more.
As Canadians gather for Remembrance Day ceremonies this year, Griffiths acknowledges that sometimes when people view military history, they see it as glorifying war and it can turn them off. From his perspective, these ceremonies instead are a way to remember the toll that war takes, and to honour Canadians who died in service.
“We should be looking at the things we did right and the things we did wrong in our military history, to perpetuate the things we did right and avoid the things we did wrong and learn from our mistakes,” Griffiths said.
Calgarians can gather at Remembrance Day ceremonies across the city on Monday, honouring the memory of veterans who have died in service of their country.
Royal Canadian Legion
The Alberta-N.W.T. Command branch of the Royal Canadian Legion will hold its annual Remembrance Day service at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium on Monday, running from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Doors to the event open at 9 a.m., with general seating available.
Other local Legion ceremonies are being held on Monday around the city at the No. 1 Branch downtown, the Kensington Legion, Killarney Community Hall and the Bowness Community Association.
The Military Museums
The Military Museums will hold a Remembrance Day ceremony on Monday at 10:30 a.m. Afterward, the museum will open to the public for the day with admission available by donation. Public visitors are encouraged to lay a wreath at the museum’s Eternal Flame monument.
Hangar Flight Museum
The Hangar Flight Museum is hosting its annual service at the helicopter landing area behind the museum, partnering with aircraft companies Eagle Copters and Alpine Helicopters. The area was a parade square during the Second World War, as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.
Organizers are requesting attendees be seated by 10:15 a.m. for the ceremony. The museum will open afterward, with admission taken by donation, from noon to 4 p.m. The museum also accepts donations for the Veterans Association Food Bank.
Canadian Pacific
CPKC’s Memorial Square will host a Remembrance Day ceremony at the company’s head office on Ogden Road in southeast Calgary. The square was originally built to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the First World War.
The King’s Own Calgary Regiment
The King’s Own Calgary Regiment, a reserve unit, will hold a full unit parade, beginning at 10:30 a.m. on Monday at the 137 Battalion Memorial in North Glenmore Park.
Studio Bell
Studio Bell will hold a special service at 10:40 a.m. on Monday, featuring the Central Alberta Chamber Players, along with singer-songwriter Tim Isberg and bagpiper Bill Hawes. The local music museum will also offer free admission that day to veterans and active service members.
Calgary Highlanders Remembrance Day parade
The primary reserve infantry unit, the Calgary Highlanders, will host a Remembrance Day parade beginning at 10 a.m. at Central Memorial Park in the city’s Beltline district.
City services and transit
On Monday, Calgary Transit will operate on a Saturday level of service, with veterans and their accompanying family members able to ride transit for free. Veterans wearing uniforms or those with veteran identification cards will be eligible.
Calgary’s Red Line will be closed between Lions Park station and downtown from Saturday until the early hours of Tuesday. Shuttle buses will run its place. A separate shuttle will also run between Lions Park station and the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, every 15 minutes from 9 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
There will be a number of short-term road closures to accommodate Remembrance Day ceremonies on Monday.
Free parking will also be available via Calgary Parking in all surface lots and parkades on Remembrance Day for cars with veteran plates.