Please join the District of Saanich on Tuesday, November 11 as we pause in a silent moment of remembrance for the people who have served and continue to serve our country in times of war, conflict and peace.
When: Tuesday, November 11, 2025. 10.45 - 11.45 am
Where: Saanich Cenotaph, 770 Vernon Avenue
Quick Links
Getting to the Venue
There are lots of ways to get here. Please see the map for visual details on bike parking and vehicle parking. Click on the BC Transit link and enter the stop ID for schedule information,
Bicycle Parking
There are three bike parking locations at Municipal Hall:
- Middleton Plaza, near the main entrance of Municipal Hall. Uncovered, but can accommodate regular and cargo-style bikes.
- Staff entrance, in between the Hall and the Annex. Access via a narrow path marked "staff only". Uncovered, but can accommodate regular and cargo-style bikes.
- The Annex, at the main entrance to the building nearest to Vernon Ave. Covered, and can accommodate regular and cargo-style bikes, although it is a squeeze for larger bicycles.
Please bring your bike locks, as there is no valet service available at the ceremony.
BC Transit
The closes bus stops to the event venue are:
- Vernon Ave at Ravine Way. Stop ID 100679 (to Saanichton Exch/Swartz Bay) serving buses 32, 70, 71, 72, and 75
- Blanshard St at Ravine Way. Stop ID 100650 (to downtown) serving buses 72 and 75
- Saanich Rd at Darwin Ave. Stop ID 100643 (to Dockyard/Uptown) serving buses 26, 26A and 26B
- Saanich Rd at Darwin Ave. Stop ID 100645 (to UVic) serving buses 26, 26A and 26B
Vehicle Parking
Vehicle Parking is available in the Municipal Hall lot. Access is via Vernon Avenue or off Darwin Avenue.
Order of Service
Hard copies of the program will be handed out at the ceremony.
PDF copy of the program: 2025 RD Program
Poetry Reading by Kyeren Regehr
Kyeren Regehr is the author of Cult Life (finalist for the national ReLit Awards and The Victoria Butler Book Prize) and Disassembling A Dancer (inaugural winner of Raven Chapbooks), as well as two earlier chapbooks. Her poetry has been published in Canada, Australia, and the USA, and thrice-longlisted for the CBC Poetry Awards. Kyeren holds a Masters degree in Writing, served as a poetry editor at The Malahat Review, and taught in the Department of Writing at the University of Victoria. She’s the Artistic Director of Planet Earth Poetry reading series and is presently co-editing the anthology After: Poems in Dialogue, with Zoe Dickinson, forthcoming with Caitlin Press. Kyeren is the 7th Poet Laureate of Victoria, host of The Poet Laureate Podcast, and has lived on the unceded homelands of the lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ for over twenty years. See: kyerenregehr.ca
Musical Performance by Nadia Lurie
Based in Victoria, BC, soprano Nadia Lurie “commands the stage with her expressive vocals” (Broadway World). She engages audiences as a dynamic performer in many genres including classical, musical theatre, and jazz. You may have seen Nadia on stage with the Pacific Opera Victoria chorus in shows such as Mozart’s La Clamenza di Tito, Bizet’s Carmen, and Golijov’s Ainadamar; and as Mary Crawford in Dove’s Mansfield Park with Nuova Vocal Arts. In 2024, Nadia was a recipient of the Annamaria Bamji Award for Emerging Opera Singers and also received the Johann Strauss Foundation Scholarship for Advanced Study of music in Austria from the University of Victoria. When she’s not singing, you can find her teaching musical theatre, or spinning records and painting. Currently, Nadia is a student at the University of Victoria’s School of Music, studying voice performance with Anne Grimm.
Wreaths
If you or your organization would like to lay a wreath, please email events@saanich.ca by Oct 15 to inquire. Please include:
- Your organization name
- A primary contact person's name and email
An event staff member will respond to your inquiry within three to five business days.
Saanich does not sell or provide wreaths. Many organizations create their own, or purchase through the Victoria Poppy Fund (part of the Royal Canadian Legion, Trafalgar/Pro Patria Branch 292). Information on their site is limited, but inquiries about pricing and availability may be made to wreaths@victoriapoppyfund.org or by calling 250.386.2533.
If you have missed the deadline to RSVP for a wreath but would still like to lay one, please bring it to the event. Once all registered wreaths have been put at the cenotaph, the emcee will ask for "any other wreaths not yet called upon" to lay them at the cenotaph. This is the moment where you are welcome to bring your wreath up.
Accessibility
Getting here: Please see the notes in the Getting to the Venue section for information on parking, buses, and bikes. The closest accessibility parking is in the annex lot, which is immediately to the left when entering off of Vernon avenue. Go up the accessible ramp to the sidewalk, following the path as it turns left towards the flagpoles and cenotaph, and left again towards the sidewalk for general seating. Note that the path has an uphill grade towards the lawn.
Seating/surface conditions: The public seating area at the Remembrance Day Ceremony is on the paved pathway surrounding the Cenotaph Lawn and on the sidewalk along Vernon Avenue. Limited seating is available and primarily reserved for representatives of organizations laying wreaths. Members of the public are welcome to bring their own seating. One lane of Vernon Avenue will be closed to vehicle traffic with a vehicle barricade in place to protect pedestrians and ceremony attendees. The lawn is reserved for military companies, and is not intended for audience seating.
Washrooms: Municipal Hall will be closed, so there are no onsite washrooms. The nearest public washrooms are at Save on Foods in the Saanich Plaza. Customer washrooms are available at Tim Hortons in the Saanich Plaza and Starbucks in Gateway Village.
Noise: The ceremony will have amplified background music playing as a prelude to the ceremony and while wreaths are being laid down. The Greater Victoria Pipe Band will pipe their way into and out of the ceremony, and a piper will perform the Lament. A bugler will play the Last Post and the Rouse. See the Order of Service for details. There is no cannon salute as part of the Saanich ceremony.
Weather: This ceremony is outdoors and will proceed rain or shine.
Dogs: Well-behaved, leashed dogs and service animals are welcome at the event.
Contact
Questions? Please email events@saanich.ca, or call 250.475.5558.