Every year when November arrives, I think about Nov. 11, Remembrance Day. I think about the poppies that the Royal Canadian Legion makes available in local stores for the price of a donation, and the parade and ceremonies that so many people come out to each Remembrance Day.

I think of the Sparks, Brownies, Girl Guides, Trex, Cubs and Scouts who march in our local parade. I think of the families who come to the events where parents are toting small children on their shoulders or pushing them in strollers. I think of the school age children and teenagers I see at these events, and I think of those folks who may have lost people to long-ago wars or to more recent conflicts.

I look around me and consider how very much I appreciate the fact that we all live in a place so far removed from the day-to-day horrors of war. Then I think of Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan and I think of how far too many are dying far too young. And I wonder if our nation’s involvement is worth the price.

So next week, on Nov. 11, I’ll join many others in honouring our fallen. I hope you, too, will take a moment to remember.

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Growing Great Children, that local community collective of folks working to support children from birth to six years old, has another event up its collective sleeve. The folks who brought you the Bobs and Lolo concert are bringing you Glamour and Glitz, Girl’s Night Out on Dec. 1 at the Black Squirrel. It’s a night out for moms and any woman who knows a mom. For the price of a $20 ticket (must be 19 or older) you’ll get a drink, fabulous appetizers, door prizes and a shuttle back to town. So save the date and keep your eyes and ears open for information on ticket sales. And you can always check the group’s blog at http://growinggreatchildren.typepad.com.

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The Pemberton Rotary Club Centennial has several initiatives in the works to support their Quilts for Africa project. This April, as part of this project, local Rotarians Shannon Ellis and Lizz Kelly will travel to Maseru, Lesotho, Africa to take quilts and to volunteer at the SOS Children’s Village. The project is being supported by the Whistler Valley Quilting Guild, which also supported the project last year.

A Spiderman quilt is up for grabs in a raffle, with the draw to take place at the Pemberton Library Dec. 18. Tickets are $3 each and are available from Bog Fabrics, the Pemberton Library, or from Rotarians.

Rotary is also hosting a Men’s Night on Dec. 10 at 6:30 p.m. at Cedar View Estate on Collins Road. It’s a get-together with a pay-per-view hockey game to watch, pool, darts, cards, beverages and snacks, plus a silent auction featuring gifts for her. Tickets are $25 each and are available at the Pemberton Legion.

For $5, you can buy a quilt square, take it home to decorate, then return it to be sewn into a quilt for children at the African orphanage that Pemberton Rotary is supporting. Squares are available at the Pemberton Library and Bog Fabrics.

Check out Christmas cards at the Pemberton Library, another Quilts for Africa initiative of the Pemberton Rotary Club Centennial.

For more information on SOS Children’s Villages, visit www.soschildrensvillages.ca.

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