As part of the Beechwood Cemetery’s 150th anniversary programming, Beechwood welcomed, on September 1st, 2023, the Deputy Mayor Clarke Kelly, who shared Mayor Sutcliffe’s proclamation stating that September 2023 was Beechwood Cemetery Month. MPP Lucille Collard also spoke during the ceremony. The proclamation was read during the burial of the Beechwood Cemetery 150th Time Capsule. It contains a variety of items celebrating the history of Beechwood Cemetery and its evolving role within the community, the city, the province and Canada.
Beechwood Cemetery partners were present and added items to the Time Capsule from Canadian Armed Forces, Capital PopUp Cinema, Chamberfest, Company of Fools, Perspectives Vanier to name a few. Following the closing of the Time Capsule, Bagpiper Bethany Bisaillion (the leader of the last Canadian Piper Group to play for Queen Elizabeth II) played for the first time Pipes on the Wind, a piece composed exclusively for Beechwood Cemetery 150th Anniversary. The Beechwood Cemetery 150th Time Capsule will not be open until September 1st, 2173 or 300 years since their founding. It will be a divine miracle or a miracle of technology if any of us are around to see it!
Based on reporting from Perspectives Vanier