Village Gate boulevard and Blackcomb Way at the Fire Hall will be closed to car and transit traffic for about half an hour on Remembrance Day, Nov. 11. Whistler’s 17th annual Community Remembrance Day ceremony will take place outside the fire hall on Village Gate Boulevard between 10:45 and 11:20 a.m. This year is a particularly historic occasion, marking the 80th anniversary of the signing of the armistice that silenced the guns of the First World War. Canada sent 650,000 young men and women to the killing fields of Europe. More than one in ten, or 68,000, never returned home. Among the Canadian casualties was the virtual annihilation of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment in a mere 30 minutes fighting at Beaumont Hamel. Canadian regiments also suffered nearly an 80 per cent fatality rate during ten arduous days of fighting at Passchendale. More than 100,000 Canadians lie in foreign graves from the battles of World War I and II, and the Korean War. All residents and visitors of Whistler are invited to take part in the Remembrance Day ceremonies. As well, veterans of all services and nations are invited to attend and take their place in the colour party and march past. For information contact Brian Buchholz of the Whistler Fire Department at 932-2020. Light refreshments will be offered by the Whistler Rotary Club in the fire hall after the service.
