Red Friday rally planned for Toronto

[MarkOttawa]

Listen live at noon Eastern:

CFRB
http://www.cfrb.com/

AM-640 Radio
http://www.640toronto.com/

Mark
Ottawa

 

[Loachman]

even if it is the Sun

"Even"?

That sounds a bit unappreciative, for a newspaper chain that has been consistently supporting us for years, and before it became fashinable to do so.

Anyway, with a little luck I'll be down there.

Scout Finch: PM inbound...

 

[keaner]

Is anyone aware of any webcasting of this event?

 

[cplcaldwell]

CFRB (link above) web casts.

 

[Danjanou]

Just got back (will upload pictures later tonight have to head out again). Not too bad a crowd, could have been bigger which I'm sure the usual suspects on the left will make a point of, but quality over quantity. Not too many speeches even from his blondness Mayor Miller, and a surprise appearance from Gordon Lightfoot who signed an autographed CD which will be sent over the troops.

Scoutfinch, Loachman and I looked for ya but didn't see anyone in a Catholic School Girl Kilt 8)

 

[MarkOttawa]

A post with photos by one who was there:

The rally in T.O.
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blogspot.com/2006/09/rally-in-to.html

Mark
Ottawa

 

[Colin Parkinson]

I have my red ribbon on today, might look into making a metal one that says "support our troops"

 

[Loachman]

Yup, no schoolgirl kilts...

I, too, was expecting a bigger crowd.

It was hard to hear at times because the PA system was rather weak, which was unfortunate, as a lot of what was said was lost to traffic and construction work.

The guys building the highrise on the east side of the square had a red shirt over a railing a couple of stories up, and were waving little flags at times.

A couple of fathers spoke, one whose son Mike is in Sunnybrooke, and Pte Cushley's father, and they both said that they were pleased by the show of support.

And that's what counts...

 

[vonGarvin]

I'm reminded of a quote attributed to Mike "Pinball" Clemons when he was still playing.  The Argos were drawing maybe 12000 to a game then.  He was asked what he would say about "only" 12000 people showing up.  His answer?  "Thank you.  Those are 12 THOUSAND people who went out of their way to come watch us play, and it's very humbling".

In other words, wow.  Given the short notice, whatever, no matter if it were a dozen people, or a thousand people, I can only say "Thank you".

 

[MarkOttawa]

CTV Newsnet has been giving Red Friday T.O. rally good coverage, subbed "Vibrant Show of Support"--Joe Warmington of Toronto Sun, main inspirer of rally, being interviewed right now.

Mark
Ottawa

 

[Jacqueline]

If anyone really valued the life of Canadians, and care about the masses, they are wearing the colour. And they'd take those who don't to Hakim Optical and get a pair of glasses.

 

[Juvat]

Loachman,

I did not mean any disrespect and I am appreciative of the support of the Sun for our troops (hearing and seeing them at the rally reinforced that).  My comment about "even the Sun" was in jest and referring to their tabloid nature, that is all.  To be honest however their initiative in this will likely mean me reading a bit more of their columns.

I was present at the rally.  For a rally that was organized on such short notice I must say that it was quite a success.  Sure there might not have had the Ottawa numbers, but given the timeframe and location I'd say it was pretty damn good.

The construction crews around, like it was mentioned previously, gave their support by flying a Canadian flag and letting a red t-shirt hang on the building.  The crowd peek at a certain point during the lunchtime and died down again towards the end.  All in all it was a good event.

I was moved by the comments made by a mom to her daughter in front of me.  The mother telling her daughter that this was a very special event because we are honouring those who take on difficult tasks so that we may live how we live.  Very heartwarming.

No throat punches were allocated during the course of this rally.

Cheers

 

[Loachman]

Loachman,

I did not mean any disrespect and I am appreciative of the support of the Sun for our troops (hearing and seeing them at the rally reinforced that).  My comment about "even the Sun" was in jest and referring to their tabloid nature, that is all.  To be honest however their initiative in this will likely mean me reading a bit more of their columns.

Roger. They often get derided in the snobbier papers because of their layout, yet the content is often superior. Book/cover/judgment and all. I have e-mailed several of their columnists over the years to thank them for some of the things that they've said. I also stopped by the Sun booth at the CNE during the Labour Day weekend while I was manning the CH146 display to thank their reps.

I was present at the rally.  For a rally that was organized on such short notice I must say that it was quite a success.  Sure there might not have had the Ottawa numbers, but given the timeframe and location I'd say it was pretty damn good.

It's a pity that we didn't link up, then. That makes four of us that were/should have been there. I agree with it being a success, even if the crowd, for such a large city, seemed a bit thin to both Danjanou and I. Seeing it on the news last night, from the stage, it looked much better. The official estimate (see below) was 3500 - and that is respectable.

I certainly appreciate the effort that it took to put this on, and those that took the time to show up.

And, coming so soon after the Veterans' Memorial Parade, this can only help awareness in Toronto.


************************************************************

From the 30 September 2006 Toronto Sun:

A dream come true

By Joe Warmington

Sometimes you just have to fight for what you believe in.

Our troops believe in this country. And they fight for it. Sometimes they die.

They die so we don't have to die.

They die so schools can be built for young Afghan children who only dream of the kind of life we have here in Canada.

The brave men and women who are serving in Afghanistan are Canadian heroes.

And yesterday, they were honoured by other Canadians in a special Remembrance Day right here in Toronto.

At some point between the solemn roll call for the 37 Canadian soldiers who have fallen in Afghanistan and the proud testimony of a father whose son was among them, it occurred to me how one week earlier the rally had been but a dream.

The idea of filling that square with red - red for our troops - came over me while I was having a coffee at Yonge-Dundas Square.

Yesterday, my dream came true - boy, did it ever.

When I penned last Saturday's column urging yesterday's rally, I was thinking maybe 35 people would show up.

Yonge-Dundas Square officials estimate that around 3,500 people made up yesterday's vast sea of red.

Terrific.

The number, however, is not as important as the message. The message is one of support to our valiant Canadian troops in Afghanistan.

I believe the troops heard that loud and clear.

"I know how much it means to them," said Sean McTeague, whose wounded son Michael, who is recovering in Sunnybrook Hospital, listened to the event on a radio.

Radio stations AM 640 and CFRB 1010 made sure our troops heard every word of support.

Program directors Gord Harris of AM 640 and Steve Kowch of CFRB 1010 put aside competitiveness and just pumped the heck out of the event for the best of reasons.

Same goes for Q-107's John Derringer, who along with other hosts Bill Carroll, Ted Woloshyn, John Oakley, Craig Bromell and Mark Elliot, ensured everybody knew it was happening.

Thanks also to Paul and Carol Mott ("The Motts").

These people, and so many others, quickly jumped in to help. We could never thank them all.

I do want to send out a special thank-you to Justin Van Dette of Toronto Councillor Bill Saundercook's office and Louise Gray of the Toronto Police Association.

These special people worked 72 hours straight to help turn this dream into something so special.

My gratitude also goes out to Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair and Toronto Police Association president Dave Wilson.

Special thanks to Greyhound for letting us essentially hijack their pre-arranged permit for the Yonge-Dundas Square.

I also can't forget musicians Tim Amick, Pam and Doug Champagne, Hurricane Mike Thompson, Derek Pilgrim and Eddie Coffey for their patriotic tunes.

It was all for the men and women in Afghanistan and for Canadian soldiers stationed in 15 other countries too.

It never hurts to give our troops a pat on the back.

A lot of them have died for us.

Pouring our feelings out for our troops was difficult enough at yesterday's rally, without hearing the news in the middle of the rally that another Canadian soldier had been killed.

But that's war.

And make no mistake, our boys and girls are fighting in one.

Lt. Col. Cliff Trollope, the highest ranking Canadian in Toronto, brought it home when he talked of how brave and selfless our troops are. They just do it. And there are no guarantees they are going to come home alive.

At this moment in time, our troops know that Toronto cares.

A video of the event was sent over on a military supply flight last night.

Our men and women in the field will see their fellow Canadians gathered in downtown Toronto, dressed in red and waving their flags.

They will hear Mayor David Miller talking about his relatives who fought in World War II.

They will hear the songs.

But most importantly, they will hear a wildly patriotic crowd cheering loudly.

And the cheers were for them - the soldiers!

"It is very emotional when I think of our young men and women over there," Canadian music legend Gordon Lightfoot told the crowd. "I think about them every day, read about them dying in the newspaper and I am very concerned about them."

We all are. Stay safe troops. We know what you are fighting for is worth it.

You can call Joe Warmington at (416) 947-2392 or e-mail at joe.warmington@tor.sunpub.com

Have a letter for the editor? E-mail it to editor@tor.sunpub.com

 

[Juvat]

Yes it is a pity that we did not meet up prior.  Should an event like this take place sometime in the near future, we should make a concerted effort to arrange more physical support from members of this forum.  But alas, given the short time frame it was a little hard to do so this time around.

Would anyone have any links to any pictures taken from the stage or pictures from the event in general?

Cheers.

 

[Loachman]

Did you check the links to the blogs a few posts back? There were some photos on at least one of those - I can't remember if there were any from the stage, though.

 

[marlene]

I made it up to Dundas Square on my lunch hour - although I agree it wasn't a huge turnout, not bad for such short notice. 

I work in a fairly large firm downtown and made it a point to walk around a couple of floors on Friday to see if anyone was wearing red.  Interestingly enough - those of us who were immediately recognized the reason for wearing red in the other person.  However, most people didn't know what it was about and sad but true don't care.  In fact, in my office I have come to watch what I say as 'it' is a touchy subject.

marlene

 

[The Legacy]

Yes it is a pity that we did not meet up prior.  Should an event like this take place sometime in the near future, we should make a concerted effort to arrange more physical support from members of this forum.  But alas, given the short time frame it was a little hard to do so this time around.

Would anyone have any links to any pictures taken from the stage or pictures from the event in general?

Cheers.

We performed our song "We Wear Red" at the Totonto rally and we have pictures which we took from the stage, if you are still interested. By the way the song can be downloaded free of charge at www.thelegacy.ca

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Any rallies planned for Vancouver?