Victoria Orange Shirt Day: Every Child Matters Ceremony is September 30
Press Release
Wear orange and join us in person for the Xe Xe Smun’ Eem-Victoria Orange Shirt Day: Every Child Matters Ceremony on Friday, September 30 from 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. in Centennial Square.
Orange Shirt Day, also the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, acknowledges the harm that Canada’s residential school system had on generations of Indigenous families and their communities. Every year on September 30, people are asked to wear orange as a sign of support.
Xe Xe Smun’ Eem means “Sacred Children” in the Cowichan or Quw utsun language.
About the Ceremony
The ceremony will include a First Nations welcome and land acknowledgement, Indigenous performances and guest speakers who will share their personal experiences with residential schools and reconciliation.
The annual raising of the Victoria Orange Shirt Day flag will be followed by 15 drum beats and a minute of silence to honour and remember those who did not survive residential schools. The flag will be lowered to half-mast after the ceremony.
The event will be emceed by Indigenous Perspectives Society Executive Director Rachelle Dallaire who is from the Montagnais people in lower Quebec and is an intergenerational survivor.
Event organizers Eddy Charlie and Kristin Spray will speak to the importance of raising awareness about residential schools to honour the more than 6,000 children who died and the sacrifices that were made by 150,000 residential school survivors and their families across Canada.
Performer and guest speaker bios coming soon!
All are welcome to this free event. Rain or shine.The ceremony will also be live streamed. View our Facebook event.
Where to Buy Orange Shirts?
Victoria Orange Shirt Day T-shirts ($25) and/or hoodies ($65) are available for purchase at local venues such as Cafe Fantastico on Kings Road, Big Wheel Burger’s four locations and Discovery Coffee on Blanshard, among others. Victoria Orange Shirt Day event organizers will also have a booth at Rifflandia from September 16 – 18. Learn more about Victoria Orange Shirt Day.
(Artwork by Bear Horne.)
Special Thanks To
Victoria Orange Shirt Day event organizers Eddy Charlie and Kristin Spray would like to thanks the following organizations for their support: Annex Fitness, Barb’s Bakery & Bistro, BIG WHEEL BURGE, Café Fantastic, Camosun College, Capital Regional District, CHEK TV, Discovery Coffee, Fairfield Community Fair, Fernwood Community Centre, Goldstream Gazette, Gordon Neighbourhood House, Imagine Studio Café, Kitsilano Neighbourhood House, MĀ Yoga, Migration Boutique, Moss Street Market, Oak Bay Pharmasave, One Yoga, Politanos Café, Ratio Coffee & Pastry, Red Barn, Rifflandia, Royal BC Museum IMAX, Shampoo Hair Bar, Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea, The Artisan’s Garden Plants, Gift and Treasures, Tourism Cares, University of Victoria and Victory Barbers and Brand.
ILR5
