July 12, 2021, changed Kelowna.
At 10:55 a.m. a crane collapsed at a construction site downtown.
Eric Stemmer, Patrick Stemmer, Jared Zook, Brad Zawislak, and Cailen Vilness died that day, leaving coworkers, friends, family, and strangers in mourning.
Knowles Heritage Park has been chosen as the home for the Rise Memorial in honour of the men.
A ceremony was held on July 12, at the park to unveil designs for the memorial and mark two years since the tragic event.
Vice president of the North Okanagan Labour Council and the Rise Memorial Project Manager Kelly Hutchinson lead the event.
91裸聊视频淢y intention back in 202191裸聊视频as to simply run a candlelight vigil, a nice gesture in a time of chaos quite frankly, and then kind of fade into the background. But what I was met within the community and seeing the potential for rising above the pain in that way told me there was more to come and there was more healing we could do to actually try and turn the page. I couldn91裸聊视频檛 be a part of it.91裸聊视频�
Ecora Engineering stepped up to design the memorial, spending a great deal of time speaking with family members of those who died.
Tanya Reid spoke on behalf of the company about the process and the design.
91裸聊视频淭his memorial garden will be a place for families and community to heal, reflect, and remember. We call this the Rise Memorial because the word evokes the promise of hope, it brings to mind trees rising to the sky and buildings rising from nothing.91裸聊视频�
The design includes four gardens - one for each family - and five trees - one for each life lost.
91裸聊视频淓ach garden rises up and spirals toward the centre. The spiral represents the sacred connection to each other; it91裸聊视频檚 in our DNA and the vastness of the universe. Life can spiral out of control91裸聊视频� the circle around the sacred space represents oneness, wholeness, community, or God holding us together.91裸聊视频�
Posters of design renderings were on display and the ceremony was held in the exact place the memorial will be built.
Mayor Tom Dyas spoke on behalf of the city, while family of some of the victims shared words of gratitude and sorrow.
The bagpipes preceded the minute of silence at 10:55 a.m. The solemn blast of five air horns from the downtown construction site, where the incident took place, could be heard faintly in the background.
WorkSafeBC was recognized by Hutchinson during speeches to thank them for being one of the first donors to the project, committing $10,000 to the build.
United Way has created a fundraiser online to collect donations. The fundraiser goal is $300,000.
Renderings of the memorial can be found on the .
READ MORE: Basran, Horgan offer condolences after downtown Kelowna crane collapse
READ MORE: WorkSafeBC fatal Kelowna crane collapse findings to not be released amid criminal probe
brittany.webster@blackpress.ca
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