Poppy blanket visits national war museum

Supplied photo by Veterans Affairs Canada

Coun. Shawn Dobson (St. James); MP Terry Duguid (Winnipeg South); Coun. Devi Sharma (Old Kildonan); Minister of Veterans Affairs Jill McKnight; poppy blanket initiator Sheilah Lee Restall; and MP Kevin Lamoureux (Winnipeg North) posed in front of the Manitoba Poppy Blanket, a powerful community-driven tribute to Canada’s fallen soldiers and veterans. The Manitoba Popply Blanket was featured at a candlelight tribute for veterans at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, Ont., on Tues., Nov. 4.

Started in Manitoba in 2018 and unveiled in 2019, the poppy planket is a breathtaking display of collective remembrance. Measuring over 85-feet long and composed of more than 8,000 crocheted and knitted poppies, as well as 2,000 dedicated ribbons, the blanket represents thousands of personal acts of gratitude from Canadians across the country.

In addition to the War Museum, the blanket was displayed at the Manitoba legislature, as well as the Joint Veterans Association of Manitoba Remembrance Day ceremony at RBC Convention Centre on Nov. 11.

— Community Review staff