Cenotaph
The Work
The monument honours Kelowna's war and peacekeeping personnel lost in World War I, World War II, and other military operations.
The Project
The Cenotaph improvement project started as a small grass roots idea coordinated by local veterans groups, based on the need to consolidate the existing cenotaph with a redesign of the plaza to accommodate the ever growing crowds during Remembrance Day ceremonies. With the support of Kelowna Veendam Sister City Association, local veterans' organizations, the British Columbia Dragoons, the Province of British Columbia, the Government of Canada, the City of Kelowna and public donations, the project took on a more appropriate scale and direction.
Two granite monuments in addition to the existing monument were created and all three components were centrally located within the plaza. The plaza was designed to accommodate the parade route as well as all needs for seating and speaking during the ceremonies, and to serve as an urban space for the rest of the year.
The design of the monument and plaza were completed by Andrew Gibbs, BCSLA, project manager for the City of Kelowna, and Don Ferguson, Site 360 Consultants Inc. Granite work and installation was by West Coast Monuments with the remainder of the site construction and landscaping completed by West-Wind Nurseries.