Red Deer Legion will play host to Legion members from around Alberta in May.
About 350 Legion representatives will be attending the Alberta/NWT Command Convention to be held at Cambridge Hotel and Conference Centre, May 6 to 8.
Local legion president Bev Hanes said another branch was unable to host the event and Red Deer has only had a few months to prepare. Usually, branches have two years to plan, but Red Deer has hosted the event in the past.
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Hanes said more people have been coming out to the Legion since pandemic restrictions were lifted.
In 2019, the Legion downsized to a smaller space in the same building at 2810 Bremner Ave., on the corner of Molly Bannister Drive, and it’s a place people like to go for darts, shuffleboard, carpet bowling, bingo, crib, bridge, lunch specials, and more.
She said the Legion is different compared to the years following the First and Second World Wars.
“Communities were smaller. Everybody knew a veteran. Now we’re a long way away from that.”
She said the new space is a good fit.
“We don’t have storage room. We’re having to pay for a storage unit. Other than that, it’s working.”
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On April 9, a Fundraiser for Ukraine will be held at the Legion, from 7 to 9 p.m., featuring dance music by the Red Deer Polka Dots. Admission is by donation which will be collected to help the people of Ukraine. For more information call 403-342-0035.
Legion members have also begun planning a 100th-anniversary event in September for the Red Deer Cenotaph.
The memorial was formally unveiled on Sept. 15, 1922 by Lord Byng of Vimy, Governor General of Canada.
The larger-than-life sculpture of a soldier gazing westward originally commemorated the 114 local young men who died in the War of 1914-18, and was later re-dedicated to honour those who lost their lives in the Second World War, the Korean War, and other conflicts.
szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
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