Remembrance Day in North Vancouver is commemorated on November 11th with a parade from the Armories and then a ceremony at the Cenotaph at Victoria Park.
The above is the event in the City of North Vancouver. Another ceremony also takes place in the District of North Vancouver (which is a separate municipality) at Cates Park not far from Deep Cove starting at around 10:30 am.
See below for details about the City of North Vancouver’s event or click Cates Park on November 11th for details about the ceremonies in the District.
Note: The event at Victoria Park didn’t happen in 2021 because of COVID-19. Actually, it did happen, but only with a small group of invited guests. The general public could not to attend.
2022 REMEMBRANCE DAY CHOIR CONCERT
In addition to the ceremonies in both the City and District of North Vancouver, there is also a Remembrance Day concert with the Vancouver Welsh Men’s Choir at Centennial Theatre in 2022. The concert takes place on November 6th (so on the Sunday before Remembrance Day.
North Vancouver Remembrance Day Events
Remembrance Day is a day when Canadians remember past wars and people who have fought for their country.
Similar to municipalities across the Lower Mainland and the entire country, the City of North Vancouver usually marks the occasion with a parade through the streets and a ceremony. Hundreds of spectators turn out for the event in years that it happens, and a large number of uniformed veterans, cadets, RCMP officers and military personnel participate.
Event Details
The City of North Vancouver’s main Remembrance Day ceremony is normally a fair-sized event that takes place at the Cenotaph at Victoria Park. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the general public was not able to attend ceremonies in 2020. In 2021 a scaled-back version of the event happened, but for invited guests only.
In years with good weather and no pandemic, well over 5000 attend. Hopefully this will be the case in 2022.
NOTE: Also on the North Shore, the District of West Vancouver has a similar ceremony at the Memorial Arch in Memorial Park on Marine Drive (near 20th Street).
City Event Time and Location
Similar to other years, in 2019 the Remembrance Day event in the City of North Vancouver began at 9:20 am and finished at around 11:30. The parade started at the JP Fell Armoury at 1513 Forbes Avenue at 9:20 and finished at Victoria Park at approximately 10:30. The ceremony then took place and lasted until around 11:30.
The ceremony typically happens at the Cenotaph in the middle of the eastern side of Victoria park which is located in the 100 block of East Keith Road about eight or so blocks up Lonsdale Avenue from the waterfront.
North Vancouver Parade Details
Remembrance Day in North Vancouver usually begins with a parade from the North Vancouver Armoury to the Cenotaph. Starting at around 9:20 am in normal years, the JP Fell Pipe Band leads a fairly large procession of veterans, cadets, and Canadian Armed Forces personnel from the Armories to the Cenotaph.
Military personnel, cadets and parade-participating dignitaries assemble at the Armouries at 1555 Forbes Avenue. From there the parade route first heads east along 15th Street and across Lonsdale Avenue to St. Georges. It then typically turns south down St. Georges Avenue and past the local RCMP Detachment (at 147 East 14th Street) and City of North Vancouver Fire Station #1 (at 165 East 13th Street) where RCMP officers and firefighters join the procession.
The parade then continues down St. Georges to Victoria Park at East Keith Road where the official ceremonies usually take place from around 10:30 until 11:30 am.
At the end of the ceremonies the parade usually begins once again. The pipe band, veterans and other participants march from Victoria Park, up Lonsdale Avenue, west along 15th Street and back to the JP Fell Armories on Forbes Avenue.
The Remembrance Day Ceremonies
Beginning at around 10:30 am and running for about an hour, the ceremonies at North Vancouver’s Victoria Park are typical of Remembrance Day events throughout Canada.
At Victoria Park in years when there isn’t a global pandemic, there is an honour guard at the Cenotaph, seating for veterans and other dignitaries, the occasional bagpipe playing and lots of people. At the North Vancouver ceremonies there is also usually a prayer of some sort, the recitation of a poem like In Flanders Field, a military band, a bugle player and sometimes a choir.
During ceremonies that are open to the public, people sing O Canada, there is the traditional 2 minutes of silence at 11 o’clock, and then the presenting of wreaths at the base of the Cenotaph by veterans, local politicians and representatives of various community organizations.
The North Vancouver Remembrance Day event is a solemn, respectful, thought-provoking and very interesting event. If you’re on the North Shore on November 11th, it’s well worth checking out in normal years.
Tips and Advice
Below is a list of suggestions to help you make the most out of your morning at the North Vancouver Remembrance Day ceremonies.
TIP #1: Dress warmly. Most years the odds are pretty good that you’ll also need an umbrella.
TIP #2: If coming from downtown Vancouver, take the SeaBus over from Waterfront Station. Subsequent transit that can then take you up the hill to Victoria Park are buses #228, #229, #230 and #239. Or, if you want a really good workout, you can walk up the hill from Lonsdale Quay for about 15 minutes (or 10 minutes on the return trip back down).
TIP #3: If you have a car and the weather is good, after the ceremony check out some of the North Shore’s best parks and places in nature. Top venues for both serious and leisurely hiking include Capilano River Regional Park, Lynn Canyon Park, Lynn Headwaters Regional Park and Rice Lake in North Vancouver. Beautiful places to go afterwards in nearby West Vancouver include Ambleside, Dundarave, Lighthouse Park and Whytecliff Park.
TIP #4: If the weather isn’t so good and you want to go somewhere indoors after the ceremony to warm up, the West Vancouver Aquatic Centre has a hot tub and is a great place for children, as is North Vancouver’s new Delbrook Rec Centre. The public market at Lonsdale Quay by the SeaBus terminal is also an interesting place for shopping.
TIP #5: If you like shopping, near the other end of the SeaBus route, at the Vancouver Convention Centre, the Circle Craft Market takes place over the Remembrance Day weekend. There hundreds of local artists and artisans have displays of amazing Christmas gift ideas that you won’t find anywhere else.
TIP #6: By the end of the November 11th ceremonies and parade it’ll be close to lunch time. Some of the North Shore’s best restaurants can be found along Lonsdale Avenue and in the area between 15th Street and Lonsdale Quay. For ideas on where to eat, check out our list of North Vancouver’s Best Restaurants.
Other Information
To learn more about the above event see the City of North Vancouver‘s website. For details about the ceremony next door in the District of North Vancouver, click Cates Park on November 11th.
For a list of Remembrance Day services in other locations throughout Metro Vancouver, click Lower Mainland Remembrance Day Venues.
- Note: Two of the region’s largest and most impressive November 11th events are the parades and ceremonies in Vancouver at Victory Square and at the City Hall in Richmond.
For ideas about other things to do in the region at other times of the year, check out Vancouver’s November Calendar of Events or Festivals & Events Calendar.
