# Edmonton Red Rally- Support the Troops



## Booked_Spice (5 Oct 2006)

A couple of spouses and members from army.ca and married to the Canadian forces, have gotten together to organize the very First Edmonton's Red Friday Rally.

This rally will take place on November 03/06 from 11:30 to 1:30  at Sir Winston Churchill Square in downtown Edmonton.  The Rally is being sponsered by a local company and a BBQ will be provided.


We have been working hard to make this an Edmonton Rally. We are in constant contact with the city, Edmonton Slautes, the base PAFFO and through these contacts hope to make this a giant "Support our troops" event. 

Our rally goal is to show Canada that these rallies are not about any particular person, group, political affiliation or mission. Our rally is goal to show our troops some well earned appreciation and give Edmonton a chance to say thank you. 

We have a number of things planned for the event. Shawn Hlookoff will be coming down to perform his "Soldier" song, we will have speeches from the Mayor and hopefully some military members will speak. We hope to get the base school on board to sing Oh Canada and well there are more things.The base PAFFO is working on getting buses to run through Edmonton and to bus people in from Cold Lake and Calgary. 

We hope those of you in the area can attend and help us make this a successful tribute to our service men and women.


----------



## R@chel (5 Oct 2006)

Just to carry on a bit with what we have been up to....

Some of us wanted to have special ts made up for our kiddies saying "Support My Daddy", "Support My Mommy" for the Ed. Rally. coming up. 

I made up a yellow ribbon logo with the text and canadian flag on it. one of the members of MCF is checking with a local contact to see if we can get kiddie ts made up (silkscreen or embroibery). The Canex doesn't carry kid's RF clothing.  

We will get back to you with the prices. We may need to buy the ts and then pay for the service, but we will let you know what we come up with. 

Please PM me if you would like to see the graphic and are interesed in getting one for the rally.


----------



## R@chel (6 Oct 2006)

Hi folks,

Just a quick update.  I have been in touch with Mike B. on this and he is behind this rally and encouraged us to post as much info as necessary for you all.

We will be holding a meeting this coming Tuesday night around 6:30 p.m. just to bang out some last minute details, etc... I have a meeting with Ed. Salutes on Tuesday and Audra will be attending this with me.  It is to go over the rally agenda and to go over any and all rally planning details. 

I would like to invite any of you who want to help out with this to PM me for further details.  

As I have been saying, this rally is not about any particular group/site, any one person, any political platform or support for any one mission.  It is merely away for Edmonton to showcase its overwhelming support for our military and to say thank you to our serving men and women.  We are not pushing for the spotlight or time on the podium.  We will be including media in this in order to give our sponsors some attention and to thank them for seeing this as a worth while cause.

As I said, army.ca is behind this rally and we would love to see more of its member involved in the planning.  I am sure you all have a wealth of knowledge and resources that we could greatly benefit from.  I am merely a wife and am not privy to the inside runnings of things, so hopefully some of your can direct us in how things need to run through the chains of command, etc...

Thanks.


----------



## R@chel (18 Oct 2006)

Edmonton’s 1st Red Fridays Rally


Edmonton, AB. – Married to the Canadian Forces, and Edmonton Salutes, supported by ATCO Group, are pleased to invite you to take part in Edmonton’s first ever Red Fridays Rally on November 3, 2006 at Sir Winston Churchill Square.  The rally will run from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m.

Included in the day’s events will be speeches by Colonel Jon Vance, Commander, 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group, Edmonton Salutes Co-Chair Councillor, Ed Gibbons and Master Corporal Paul Franklin, who recently suffered the loss of his legs during a tour in Afghanistan.  As well, Shawn Hlookoff, a British Columbia musician, will be in Edmonton to perform his “Soldier” tribute song and the Guthrie School Choir will be singing Oh Canada. 

The rally will include face painting, the sale of Red Fridays and Yellow Ribbon products and much more.  All proceeds from the sale of Red Fridays and Yellow Ribbons products will go to support the Edmonton Military Family Resource Centre.

The primary goal of this rally is to show support to our military.  It is not to highlight any particular group, political party, or mission.  More so, it is a chance for Edmonton to show its appreciation to our troops and an opportunity for our citizens to say thank you. 




-30-


----------



## George Wallace (18 Oct 2006)

Link Please.


----------



## R@chel (18 Oct 2006)

No link.  I wrote it and put it out through MCF.


----------



## George Wallace (18 Oct 2006)

It looks like a cut and paste from a news article with the tell-tale "-30-" at the bottom.  That would suggest to me that it was copied from another source, even if you did write it.


----------



## R@chel (20 Oct 2006)

Yes, yes.  I took PR and write for it lol.  It was cut and paste from a document on my laptop.  Sorry for the confusion.


----------



## Natascha (27 Oct 2006)

Thought I would add if members are interested in attended the MFRC is supplying busses for transportation. Space is limited so please call and reserve your seat if interested.


Happy Red Friday's


----------



## R@chel (31 Oct 2006)

Rally details:

Speakers:  Padre, Col. Vance, MCpl. Paul Franklin, Councillor Gibbons, and Audra Franklin

Musical Performances:  The Guthrie School Choir & Shawn Hlookoff

Displays/Vendors:  MFRC, Canex, 3PPCLI Vehicle & Static Display, Edmonton Recruiting Centre, Face Painting, Flag Signing (Send a message to our troops).

We hope to get a good turn out despite the snow and hope those of you in the area will come out on Friday.


----------



## Pea (3 Nov 2006)

I just wanted to bump this up for anyone who is interested in attending. Rally runs from 11:30 - 1:30 at Sir Winston Churchill Square. I'm hoping there will be a good turn out, despite the current snowfall. I know I plan to sneak away from work for a bit. In a snowsuit of course, since I am sick as a dog.


----------



## Signalman150 (3 Nov 2006)

Hey Pea,

I talked to the boss earlier this week and she was quick to give me time off to go.  I'll be down there about 12:00p and I'm hoping that there won't be a piece of concrete visible.  I haven't seen much in the way of advertising or heard a single radio spot, so I'm a bit concerned about how many non-military have heard the message.  Fingers crossed.


----------



## SprCForr (3 Nov 2006)

CFRN and Global have been talking about it for the last couple days. They were planning live coverage but I missed the noon news today. However, yesterday at lunch CFRN interviewed Audra about today's gathering.


----------



## Pea (3 Nov 2006)

Brrrrrrr It was a cold one! I just got back to the office. Not a bad show I'd say for the weather, and the fact that not many people outside the "military world" knew about it. Hopefully next year will see more people, and perhaps some sunshine. I'm glad I went.


----------



## Signalman150 (3 Nov 2006)

Hey all,

My estimate was between 400-500 people: not a bad turnout for -10 degrees C.  I guess it did my little black heart good to see that it was a far cry from the "dozens" (the Journal said about a hundred) that turned out for the peacenik rally last weekend.

Saw you there Pea, but didn't want to lose my spot in the lineup to sign the Yellow Ribbon banner.  Anyway, I had the rare presence of mind to bring my digital camera with me, tho' not the presence of mind to bring an extra set of batteries.  As it turned out, the camera liked the cold less than I did, so I only got three pics. As soon as I get over my computer-based ineptitude, I'll get them up here.


----------



## Signalman150 (3 Nov 2006)

Here goes nuthin'


----------



## Pea (3 Nov 2006)

Signalman150 said:
			
		

> Saw you there Pea,



Ya I was the sickly one doing a little dance to stay warm, while trying not to cough my brains out. Silly Alberta weather. There seemed to be more people than shown in those pics at one point. I too made sure to get in there to sign that banner, but it was pretty full already! I brought my camera but forgot about it until on my way home. Thanks for the pics.


----------



## Signalman150 (3 Nov 2006)

Those pics don't show the full story.  They were taken just moments before the children's choir sang O Canada.  By the time MCpl Franklin took the podium, the crowd had filled out somewhat.


----------



## Natascha (3 Nov 2006)

I want to thank everyone one involved in planning and who came out. Impressed seeing as it was cold out...brrrrrrr
Pea sorry I missed you but glad you made it out! Next years will be 3rd week in September so much much warmer!


----------



## vonGarvin (3 Nov 2006)

All that white stuff on the ground....is it...is it...snow?  

Congrats to all who showed up!

:cheers:


----------



## 3rd Herd (4 Nov 2006)

Can West News Service 0
Edmonton Free Press +10

Must have been a slow news day here in Calgary as the Support the Troops Rally made the Herald's Top New's Section and recieved a full page of coverage. Under the headline of "Edmonton War Rally", an excellent story was provided. Well done folks.

VP


----------



## boondocksaint (4 Nov 2006)

I went, I froze, I had Timmies. Pretty good turn out for the weather, good speakers. Cant wait till the next one.


----------



## Booked_Spice (4 Nov 2006)

First I would like to thank everyone come out and brave the cold, I believe I am finally getting feeling in my feet again. It was a good turnout and it was great to see so many people there.

Natasha has made a video tribute for those that maybe were not able to be there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pre1uT2NQss

Until next year.. and we promise it will be held when it is still warm outside. A special thanks goes out to members of 1 VP and you all know who you are. Thank you for volunteering and helping us with the First Red Rally in Edmonton.


----------

