Massive blanket of poppies at legislature honours Canada’s fallen soldiers

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This article was published 06/11/2023 (719 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A blanket comprised of thousands of fabric poppies to honour veterans has been rolled out inside the Manitoba legislature.

The 26-metre-long Poppy Blanket, created with the work of hundreds of volunteers in 2019, has been set up to cascade down the entire length of the Grand Staircase between the buffalo statues at the front entrance of the Legislative Building, where it will remain until about a week after Remembrance Day.

Sheilah Lee Restall was inspired to begin the project to honour members of the Canadian Armed Forces after hearing about another poppy blanket created in the United Kingdom.

“I don’t think I would want it out somewhere permanently,” Restall said shortly after helping to set it up on Monday.

“I like the idea that it is special when it is displayed. It’s something you see which stops people and then they think about it. It’s a special time that we honour people in this period of Remembrance.”

Restall reached out to the Handmade Winnipeg public group five years ago and, before she knew it, hundreds of volunteers were creating poppies to add to the blanket.

It took about a year for the project to be completed and it was first unveiled at Winnipeg’s city hall and the legislature in 2019. This is the fourth time it has returned to the legislature.

Restall said she has some fabric poppies in reserve to touch up the blanket, but mostly it is just a matter of retying some of them if they fall off.

“Many people go to see it every year,” she said. “Every time you see it, there is a moment of awe.

“It is impactful to see it and know what it means. I don’t think anyone will ever get tired of it.”

The blanket also contains more than 1,000 ribbons with the names of registered Manitoba soldiers who died during the First World War.

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Meanwhile, the Transcona Museum is presenting a special Remembrance Week exhibition at Kildonan Place.

“Stories of Remembrance: From Hometown to the Frontlines” recounts Transcona families’ history of war and wartime using first-hand experiences in 18 stories.

The exhibit was first unveiled in 2021 and last year it received an Award of Excellence from the Association of Manitoba Museums.

It will be on display in the mall’s centre court area until Saturday.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca

Kevin Rollason
Reporter

Kevin Rollason is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He graduated from Western University with a Masters of Journalism in 1985 and worked at the Winnipeg Sun until 1988, when he joined the Free Press. He has served as the Free Press’s city hall and law courts reporter and has won several awards, including a National Newspaper Award. Read more about Kevin.

Every piece of reporting Kevin produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.