This year's observance of Remembrance Day will still feature the traditional selling of poppies on Poppy Day, and will also see the addition of an annual dance.

Poppy Day will be held on Saturday, Nov. 4, and members of the Weyburn Legion, Cadet Corps, Girl Guides, and the Pathfinders will set up tables in the mall, grocery stores, and on street corners throughout the downtown.

"There's quite a contingent of Army Cadets, Girl Guides, and Pathfinders," said Linda Schultz, secretary-manager of the Weyburn Legion Branch, adding there will be about 36 people in total selling poppies.

For those wishing to buy a poppy, sale is by donation only. Proceeds from the sale of poppies go towards campaign expenses and providing assistance to ex-servicemen and women who may require food, shelter, or medical services. Also, proceeds are sometimes put into bursaries for children or grandchildren of ex-personnel, or for low-rental housing for elderly or disabled persons.

Legion members have already finished their campaign of selling display wreaths to businesses and organizations in the community. Wreaths sold for $20 to $64 each.

Schultz said the Legion raises an average of $12,000 each year from the sales of poppies and wreaths, and hopes at least that much will be raised this year. "It looks pretty good so far," she said.

Also, there will now be a First Annual Remembrance Day Banquet and Dance held on Friday, Nov. 10. Schultz said this event is being put on by the Legion in partnership with the Masonic Lodge.

"We just got together with the Masonic Lodge and decided it would be a good idea," she said. "It's just a special thing we're doing this year."

Music is being supplied by a 19-piece Masonic Lodge orchestra. Tickets are being sold at the Legion hall for $20 each, which includes the price of the banquet and the dance.

Remembrance Day ceremonies begin on Saturday, Nov. 11, at 10:30 a.m. with a special Remembrance Day parade marching from the parking lot east of the Royal Canadian Legion Hall to the cenotaph on Third Street, where a two-minute silence, Remembrance Day ceremony, and laying of wreaths will follow. There will then be a service held in the Weyburn Legion Hall.