File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

SPECIAL CEREMONY

Legion to exercise Kamloops Freedom of the City Friday afternoon

Jun 5, 2025 | 4:35 PM

KAMLOOPS — The Legion was given the freedom of the city in Kamloops back in 1986, this Friday (June 5) ahead of the BC/Yukon Legion Command Conference this weekend, the legion will exercise that freedom.

The ceremony will begin at City Hall where the deputy mayor of Kamloops will read a proclamation, allowing the legion to exercise their freedom. From there, they will march to Riverside Park for a brief remembrance ceremony at the cenotaph.

“We will march with bayonets fixed, flags flying and drums beating as the terms go, from City Hall to the cenotaph at Riverside Park where we will have a short remembrance ceremony and a wreath-laying ceremony with some of our VIPs, our MLAs, MPs, RCMP, military and such,” said Craig Thomson, president of the Royal Canadian Legion BC/Yukon Command.

The ceremony, by coincidence, aligns with the anniversary of D-day, with the legion set to remember those who stormed the beaches of Normandy — including some who still call Kamloops home.

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“But the public is more than welcome to come out and actually experience something that very few people have experienced and that is the Freedom of the City,” said Thomson. “Freedom of the City goes back hundreds of years where militaries would come upon a community and knock on the gates of the community and ask for permission to enter the community and that is what we are celebrating.”

The ceremony is set to start around 5:00 pm on Friday at City Hall. The event is open to the public.