NEWS RELEASE
ORILLIA PUBLIC LIBRARY
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The Orillia Public Library’s award-winning Remembrance Event is back this month with new exhibits and activities.
Beginning on Saturday, Nov. 4, the library’s program rooms will be transformed into mini-museums that feature intriguing wartime memorabilia and artifacts. The Orillia Museum of Art and History, the Simcoe County Museum, the Museum of the Royal Regiment of Canada, Royal Canadian Legion Branch 34 Orillia, and Home Children Canada, along with military collectors, have partnered with the library for these incredible exhibits.
This year the library is highlighting the 70th anniversary of the Korean War and the 75th anniversary of Canadian peacekeeping. The British Home Children who enlisted and fought in the World Wars will be honoured with a special display. Also displayed is the story of the Orillia championship hockey team, the Younkers, along with a tribute to the world-famous entertainment troupe, the Dumbells, with origins in Orillia.
Walk the library’s halls to view over 100 commemorative panels that honour local people affected by wars, with photos and fascinating stories.
The library will also welcome over 850 students from schools around the region to take part in the events throughout the week. Students will view the exhibits and take part in an educational scavenger hunt.
Jayne Turvey, community services co-ordinator for the Orillia Public Library, has been organizing this annual event since it began, in 2014. She believes that passing the remembrance torch to our youth is critical in keeping the memory of our past alive.
“Each Remembrance Day, everyone says, ‘Remember them.’ But how are youth expected to remember when they naturally have no memories of these wars? We tell them some local stories about the men and women who went overseas and those who stayed back home and did some wonderful things to support the soldiers,” she said. “After visiting the exhibit, the students will take with them many meaningful reflections for Remembrance Day.”
The event begins Saturday, Nov. 4 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. It also runs Monday, Nov. 6 to Wednesday, Nov. 8 from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., and Thursday, Nov. 9 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 4 is the special Museum and Military Historian/Collectors Day with additional exhibits from the Grey and Simcoe Foresters Museum and the Georgina Military Museum. Historians and collectors will also be on hand to answer questions.
“This amazing event is open to everybody and it’s free,” Turvey said. “We’d love to see as many people as possible as we take time to remember.”
For more information visit www.orilliapubliclibrary.ca.
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