Most groups planning to lay a wreath at the cenotaph beside Burlington City Hall this year will do it the evening before Remembrance Day. Royal Canadian Legion Branch 60, the city's chapter of the national veterans' organization, is asking wreath layers to come to the cenotaph on Tuesday, Nov. 10, between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m., rather than during the service on Nov. 11.
The branch says in its wreath notice that after the 2025 ceremony it was asked to find ways to shorten it. The number of groups asking to lay wreaths has grown over the years and adds substantial time to the ceremony, the Legion says. Large crowds and foul weather have also made laying wreaths difficult in the past.
The Remembrance Day ceremony itself goes ahead on Wednesday, Nov. 11, at 11 a.m. at the cenotaph. A limited number of wreaths will still be placed during that service to maintain military tradition, and the Legion will notify those groups beforehand. The names of everyone placing a wreath on either day will be read aloud during the Nov. 11 ceremony.
Evening wreath layers will find the cenotaph already under watch: local cadet groups begin their vigil there at 5:45 p.m. on Nov. 10 and stay posted until noon on Remembrance Day.
The Legion's poppy campaign, which raises money to support veterans, began Oct. 24. A Legion poppy display at Burlington Centre runs Friday, Oct. 30, to Nov. 10.
Groups that want a wreath need to order soon. A 20-inch wreath with an easel costs $100, and paid orders are due by Friday, Nov. 6; the branch won't reserve a wreath without payment. Ron Holmes, the branch's poppy chairman, signed the notice. Branch 60 is at 828 Legion Road.
