To mark the start of National Legion Week, Cochrane’s Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 15 Men of Vision will host several forms of military history at their Legion Day event on Sept. 14.
The free event will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on 114 Fifth Ave. The event will feature a variety of a military memorabilia and a chance to connect with veterans. This is also to help kick-off National Legion Week from Sept. 15 to 21.
Cochrane Legion sergeant-at-arms Joey Cyr said the event aims to commemorate the Legion as a whole, while also representing the military. Donation will be accepted on site to support the legion, but are not required.
“Donations from the community is what helps keep the light on for the Legion, and also helps us to do these incredible events that bring the community together,” Cyr said.
With lots of plans and surprises in store for the event, he outlines that this is all to bring people to the Legion in a way that gets everybody involved and engaged.
“We’re going to leave it as a surprise, but the one cool thing that’s going to change this year is that we’re going to be bringing some off-road vehicles as well,” Cyr said. “It doesn’t directly relate to the Legion per se, but a couple of members, myself, and the president of the Legion are involved with the Calgary Off-Road Group.
“We want to bring something different, something cool that the kids will be interested in, and add a little extra to the show to bring more people in.”
With the event a little more than a week away, he hopes that the weather remains warm for families and kids who want to drop by the Legion.
“We’re hoping to get a good volume of people to come through, but not only do we want people to see the stuff on the outside, we want people to come in and see the Legion, talk to the veterans, talk to the members, and find out what the Legion has to offer because it has so much history,” he said.
With the Legion celebrating its 50th anniversary later this year, Cyr said it is a huge milestone for both the Legion and Cochrane.
“We want the community to come out and see exactly what 50 years has brought to the community, and how much history and involvement we’ve had within the Cochrane community,” Cyr said. “It means a lot to us, and we’d like to share that with everybody.”
