The annual Memorial Day ceremony returned to the cenotaph in City Park, following a parade down Bernard Avenue. The official event has not been held for the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the temperatures were below freezing and snow covered the ground, the city streets and park were filled with people of all ages. It was one of the largest attendances at the ceremony in recent memory. “It’s so great to see the crowd out, to see the kids out, to have the parade in all its glory, it was great,” said Michael Loewen of the Kelowna Legion, who emceed the event. “You can see how people have reacted, there’s clearly an appetite for it.” After the ceremony, several people laid wreaths at the foot of the cenotaph, including Kelowna’s new mayor Tom Dyas and MLA for Kelowna-Lake Country Norm Letnick. People also walked to the nearby Field of Crosses in City Park, which commemorates 227 fallen Canadian soldiers. Similar events were held across the Okanagan Friday morning, including West Kelowna, Rutland, Peachland and Lake Country. While no formal ceremony was held at City Park last year, people still came to the cenotaph to pay their respects. But that was disrupted by COVID-19 protesters, who set up their own sound system and began spouting anti-vaccine and anti-mandatory rhetoric. A woman involved was criminally charged in the incident and charges are pending. There were no breaks in this year’s event. Photo: Nicholas Johansen Click here to view the collection
