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At Cunning Field, the poppies (will) grow...

The north end of Coquitlam's Town Centre Park will soon be covered with red poppies as part of an outdoor tribute to Canadian armed servicemen and women.

The north end of Coquitlam's Town Centre Park will soon be covered with red poppies as part of an outdoor tribute to Canadian armed servicemen and women.

Last month, city staff scattered Flanders poppy (Papver rhoeas) seeds on the sloped bank above Cunnings Field after a request by the BC Veterans Commemorative Association (BCVCA).

Coquitlam will be the second municipality in the province with a BCVCA-designated poppy field. The first was seeded several years ago at Inter-River Park in North Vancouver District and an annual event there to honour servicemen and women attracts thousands of school children in the spring, when the poppies bloom.

Coquitlam plans to host a similar commemorative event this year on D-Day, June 6, to mark the 67th anniversary of the day Allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy.

"It's a heart-warming thing to know you have done it, too," Archie Steacy, BCVCA president, told the city's recreation and parks committee Monday.

BCVCA director Denis Crockett said his regiment, the Regina Rifles, saw action in Flanders and Holland during the Second World War and there are many fields there that continue to grow the showy red flower with a black spot at its base.

"It's a symbol of freedom," Crockett said.

The cost of the poppy seeds, a sign and the June 6 event in Coquitlam will be paid by the association. Lori MacKay, Coquitlam's general manager of parks, said the flowers will re-seed themselves and require little maintenance.

BCVCA is also lobbying other municipalities to take part in its poppy program.

jwarren@tricitynews.com