ELORA – The St. John’s Elora Poppy Project, now in its third year, has received over 9,000 knitted and crocheted poppies created by over 150 people across Canada and assembled by the Knitters and Quilters group at St. John’s Elora.
With approval from Elora Branch 229 of the Royal Canadian Legion and the National Poppy Campaign, the poppy banner installations can be viewed at St. John’s Church in Elora; at libraries, retail shop windows, lampposts, and nursing homes in Elora and Fergus; and a new installation in 2023 of a 40-foot banner on the front steps of the Wellington County Museum in Aboyne.
The first St. John’s Elora Poppy Project in 2021 marked the 100th anniversary of the poppy as a symbol of remembrance.
The next year, 2022, marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of Colonel John McCrae, author of In Flanders Fields. McCrae was born in Guelph.
“In 2023 we are reminded of the need to pray for peace and be peacemakers in a world filled with conflict,” officials stated.
The church is open for the public to view the poppies on Nov. 10, 11 and 12, from 11am to 3pm.
Members of the St. John’s Elora knitters group gather for a photo as they put together the last of the banners.
Originally the group wanted to make one banner reaching from the top of the steeple to the ground. Now the poppy display at St. John’s Elora has taken over the town.
