There will be a Remembrance Day service at the Legends Centre in Warman on Wednesday, November 11.
But it will be streamed live online.
The ceremony itself will be limited to just 150 people, which includes the colour party and guest speakers.
A link to the live streaming event on the City of Warman YouTube channel will be posted on the City of Warman website, according to Warman Recreation and Community Events Supervisor Coralie Bueckert.
In an interview October 27, Bueckert said the scaled-back Remembrance Day service is due to health restrictions imposed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last year, the Warman Remembrance Day service attracted more than 1,000 people. A gathering of that size was obviously not in the cards for this year, said Bueckert.
“There was a lot of discussion by the organizing committee over the past few months about whether the Remembrance Day service could go ahead or whether it would have to be cancelled this year,” said Bueckert. “Everyone felt because this was such an important part of our community and our history, and because so many people want to attend, that we needed to find a way to make it happen.”
She said there are fewer Remembrance Day services being held this year, which makes the event in Warman more necessary.
“It is the only event being live-streamed in real time,” said Bueckert. “The big service at SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon is being pre-recorded.”
Bueckert said the service has been held in Warman for decades, and the number of people attending has grown every year.
“At first it was held at the Brian King Centre, and then later at the Legends,” she said. “The cenotaph just outside the Legends Centre is a permanent reminder of the sacrifice of veterans; and it’s a fitting place for the laying of the wreaths every year.”
This time around, however, there will be only a single wreath laid at the foot of the cenotaph by a representative of the colour party.
She said last year, event organizers made use of closed circuit cameras to broadcast the laying of the wreaths onto a large screen inside the Legends Centre so the audience could see the proceedings without going outside.
That experience will prove valuable this year, she said.
“We have the facilities and the technology to produce this event and put it online,” she said.
Bueckert said the service will be similar to those in past years.
“Our plan is to make it as normal as possible,” she said. “Unless the Saskatchewan Health Authority guidelines change between now and November 11, a maximum of 150 people will be allowed into the Legends Centre gym. We will have more than enough space to socially distance the invited guests of the colour party, and we’re requiring everyone to wear a mask.
“There is only one wreath to reduce the touching and movement among the people in the colour party,” she added.
Elected representatives of several municipalities, including Warman, Martensville, Osler and Corman Park, have been invited. The Member of Parliament and Member of the Legislative Assembly for the area are also invited.
The service is expected to begin at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, November 11.