Listen to this story:

The quick read: Kelowna marks Indigenous Veterans Day today, Sunday, November 8, and Remembrance Day on Wednesday, November 11. The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 26 parade steps off at 10:45 a.m. Wednesday from Stuart Park, with the ceremony at the City Park Cenotaph at 11 a.m. Expect downtown road closures from 8 a.m. Wednesday, City Hall closed for the day, and flags at half-mast from sunrise to sunset.

Today is Indigenous Veterans Day, and Wednesday is Remembrance Day.

Two days on the calendar, one duty: remember the people who served, and the ones who did not come home.

Westbank First Nation honoured its fallen warriors with an Indigenous Veterans Day ceremony on Friday, ahead of today's observance, which recognizes the service and sacrifice of Indigenous veterans across Canada.

Wednesday in downtown Kelowna

Branch 26 of the Royal Canadian Legion will hold its annual Remembrance Day parade and ceremony downtown on Wednesday, November 11.

The pre-ceremony parade begins at 10:45 a.m. in Stuart Park, marching to the City Park Cenotaph for the 11 a.m. ceremony.

A post-ceremony parade follows from Lawrence Avenue to Water Street, ending at the Queensway traffic circle.

On the Westside, the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 288 hosts its Remembrance Day service at Royal LePage Place, 2760 Cameron Road, with seating at 10:30 a.m. and the service starting at 10:45 a.m.

Road closures and closures

Several downtown streets close beginning at 8 a.m. Wednesday for the parade: Bernard Avenue between Water and Abbott streets, Abbott Street between Bernard and Lawrence avenues, and Lawrence Avenue between Abbott and Water streets.

After the ceremony, Lawrence Avenue between Abbott and Water streets and Water Street between Lawrence Avenue and the Queensway traffic circle stay closed from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for the post-ceremony parade.

City Hall will be closed for the statutory holiday, while Parkinson Recreation Centre will operate from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Flags at city properties and parks will be lowered to half-mast from sunrise to sunset.

The Field of Crosses

Kelowna's Field of Crosses, 227 white crosses behind the cenotaph in City Park honouring veterans of the First and Second World Wars and the Korean War, is open to the public through November 12.

It is worth a visit, and worth bringing the kids.

Remembrance is not a history lesson for someone else's family.

It is a debt this community owes, paid in an hour of our time once a year, and the least we can do is show up.

Sources: Kelowna's 103-1 Beach Radio, November 6, 2026; City of Kelowna; Tourism Kelowna; Visit Westside.