If your group usually lays a wreath at Burlington's Remembrance Day ceremony, plan to come a night early. This year most wreaths will be placed on the evening of Tuesday, Nov. 10, in a ceremony run by Royal Canadian Legion Branch 60, a local veterans' organization, and the Burlington Army, Navy and Air Force Cadet Corps.
After the 2025 ceremony, the Legion was asked to find ways to shorten the Remembrance Day service, the Legion says, because the number of groups asking to lay wreaths has grown over the years.
Cadets will begin a vigil at the Cenotaph at 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday and stay posted there until noon on Wednesday, Nov. 11. Wreath layers are asked to arrive between 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. A 20-inch wreath with an easel costs $100 from the Legion.
Here's the schedule for both days.
| When | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Tue., Nov. 10, 5:45 p.m. to Wed. noon | Cadet vigil | Cenotaph, Veteran Square |
| Tue., Nov. 10, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. | Wreath laying | Cenotaph, Veteran Square |
| Wed., Nov. 11, 9 a.m. | Burl-Oak Naval Veterans service (30 minutes) | Naval Ships Memorial Monument, Spencer Smith Park |
| Wed., Nov. 11, 10:30 a.m. | Procession | Central School, Baldwin Street, to the Cenotaph |
| Wed., Nov. 11, 11 a.m. | Legion Branch 60 service (45 to 60 minutes) | Cenotaph, Veteran Square, 426 Brant St. |
Wednesday opens at 9 a.m. with a 30-minute service by the Burl-Oak Naval Veterans at the Naval Ships Memorial Monument in Spencer Smith Park, on the waterfront.
At 10:30 a.m., armoured personnel carriers will lead the procession from Central School on Baldwin Street down Brant Street to Elgin, Locust and Ontario streets, ending at the Cenotaph in Veteran Square, 426 Brant St., on the north side of City Hall.
The Legion's service at the Cenotaph starts at 11 a.m. and runs 45 to 60 minutes. It includes a colour guard, two minutes of silence, music by members of the Burlington Teen Tour Band, a reading of In Flanders Fields and the laying of wreaths. Anyone who can't stand outside can watch Cogeco's live broadcast at the Legion hall, 828 Legion Rd., or at the Burlington Seniors' Centre, 2285 New St.
Drivers should steer clear of the route. Baldwin, Brant, Elgin and Ontario streets along the procession will be closed from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday; Locust Street reopens as soon as the procession has passed. Burlington Transit's Route 2 will detour.
There's still time to buy a poppy. The Legion's annual Poppy Campaign, which began Oct. 24, runs until Tuesday, Nov. 10, and Burlington Centre lists Legion poppy sales at the mall from Oct. 30 through Nov. 10. Poppy donations support veterans and their families, and money given in Burlington is spent in Burlington.
