This Monday, Sept. 30, is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, and in Collingwood there are several options for residents to mark the importance of the day.
Truth and Reconciliation Day was declared as a time to reflect on the lasting impacts of the residential school system, and a day to honour the survivors, their families and their communities.
Collingwood will begin today (Sept. 27) by raising the Every Child Matters flag at the Collingwood Public Library at 4 p.m.
On Sept. 30, residents are encouraged to visit Harbourview Park and the Awen Gathering Circle where a new poetry installation featuring a poem by Collingwood's poet laureate Jillian Morris will be displayed along the trail through the forest west of the gathering circle.
Morris' poem is entitled Spare a Moment.
By wearing orange on Sept. 30, Collingwood residents can acknowledge the story of Orange Shirt Day, created in memory of a residential school survivor who was stripped of her orange shirt that her grandmother made her for her first day of school.
Orange shirts have become a symbol to honour and remember the victims of the residential school system.
There will be orange feathers mounted on the light standards downtown, each of which will include a QR code linking to Truth and Reconciliation resources, which are also available on the Awen' Gathering Place webpage.
The Town Hall & Municipal Offices, the Collingwood Museum and Collingwood Public Library will be closed on September 30th in recognition of this important day. Transit will operate as scheduled.
