The 2020 Miners Memorial is taking place under exceptional circumstances, one that sadly limits our ability to travel and convene in person, as we have for so many years, to honour the incredible contributions and sacrifices of workers on Vancouver Island and around the world.

The Miners Memorial working committee has been hard at work, exploring meaningful ways for us to come together on June 20th, while safely distanced, to mark this important occasion.

The committee plans to gather as a small group, and invite the Miners Memorial community to join us from home, for two live-stream events – one at the Cumberland Community Cemetery and the other at the Chinese and Japanese Cemeteries. We will share contemporary and historical writings, music and reflections about workers in these unparalleled times, and lay flowers on behalf of the collective community that marks this event each year.

In addition, we are working with the musician community to develop a Songs of the Workers playlist that will be available to stream or download, with any proceeds going to the artists who contribute songs. Musicians have been hard hit by the COVID crisis and we want to make sure we are supporting them directly while sharing the stories and songs that act as threads between the past and present and remind us of the struggles and triumphs of workers through time.