CTV News Atlantic covered our memorial crosswalks in a recent story: Crosswalks comemorate veterans.
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Downtown Amherst features new memorial artwork in three of its crosswalks, all honouring the town’s veterans.
“This is Veterans’ Week, and Remembrance Day is this coming Monday, so we wanted to do something special to respectfully celebrate our veterans,” said Amherst Mayor Rob Small. “We’ve received a lot of interest recently from citizens who wanted to see us paint these memorial crosswalks – so, that’s exactly what we’re doing today.”
For the last few years, the Town has been working hard to grow its relationship with the Royal Canadian Legion’s Amherst branch, and the two organizations have partnered on a number of projects including the Afghanistan war memorial, as well as Remembrance Day and D-Day ceremonies.
Local resident and artist Daren White outlines the soldier’s silhouette freehand, as part of Amherst's new veteran crosswalks located downtown.
“This is part of our continued collaboration with the Legion to support their members – as we do by displaying the veteran banners on our roadside poles in November,” said Mayor Small.
The Town consulted with the Legion on the appropriateness of symbols to be painted in the crosswalks, recognizing that these are high traffic areas, and painted tributes will fade. There is a commitment to maintaining these new memorial crosswalks on an annual basis.
Daren White is a lifelong Amherst resident with many talents. He paints the Amherst Stadium’s ice logos by hand every year, and he is the man responsible for completing today’s crosswalk memorials.
“I like to see Amherst pretty,” White shared. “I’ve painted a couple of murals around town, and I love the crosswalks. Downtown is beautiful, and that’s part of what people drop in to see.”
After Remembrance Day, the wreaths are removed from the memorials and the banners come down, but the new crosswalks are one more way the Town of Amherst can demonstrate its respect year-round for those who fought in protection of our country and our freedom.
White’s artwork pops as a respectful tribute to Amherst’s veterans, during this Veterans’ Week, leading up to Remembrance Day.
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This year’s Remembrance Day ceremonies will take place in Amherst at Victoria Square on Monday, November 11. Attendees are asked to be in place by 10:45 a.m.
