'An act of remembrance': How one Winnipeg legion branch got poppies out to the community

With Remembrance Day coming up, one Royal Canadian Legion branch in Winnipeg held an event over the weekend to help distribute poppies to the community.

On Sunday, the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 100 Winnipeg – Charleswood hosted a poppy drive-thru in the legion’s parking lot, where residents could come and pick up a poppy.

Phil Otis of the Charleswood Legion Branch 100 said the event began a few years ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Of course, we always want to remember. One way to remember is to get a poppy,” he said in an interview on Sunday.

The one-day event was a way for the legion to connect with community members, while also honouring the courage and sacrifice of those who served our country.

Though the drive-thru event was only a one-day initiative, the Royal Canadian Legion’s poppy campaign is underway across Canada.

“You’ve got to remember that the poppy is significant in that it’s an act of remembrance. It has nothing to do with war, it’s strictly remembrance,” Otis said.

“That’s the big thing about the poppy. We always remember veterans.”

Remembrance Day is on Friday, Nov. 11.