Ceperley Playground home to Air India Memorial

July 28, 2007 - Stanley Park's iconic red fire engine, anchoring the popular Ceperley Playground near Second Beach, shines brightly in a totally refurbished landscape undertaken as part of the new Air India Memorial. The Air India Memorial was officially unveiled on July 27, 2007 with a special dedication ceremony that included family members and friends of the victims.

State-of-the-art play equipment joined by swings, slides and creatively designed climbing ropes, flank a newly upgraded area for summer dancing and traffic school. Just to the west of the play area is a place of quiet contemplation where a curving stone wall is etched with 331 names commemorating the bombing victims who perished on Air India Flight 182 and at Narita Airport in 1985, in the worst terrorist incident in Canadian history. Eighty-two of the victims were children, and the new playground symbolizes their innocence, and offers a place for happiness and enjoyment to the children of today and the future

The memorial wall's wing shape represents the plane's path while the surrounding plaza stones symbolize all those lost. Dove trees, with white handkerchief blossoms which are emblematic of peace, hug classic granite walls blending in with the original picnic shelter.

The special dedication ceremony was attended by hundreds of people on a beautiful July morning as the waters of English Bay lapped the nearby shoreline. Park Board Chair Ian Robertson was Master of Ceremonies and remarks were delivered by The Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of Public Safety Canada, The Honourable Gordon Campbell, Premier of British Columbia and His Worship Sam Sullivan, Mayor of Vancouver along with representatives of the victim's families, Ms. Jayashree Thampi and Mrs. Perviz Madon. (see the news release)

The cost of the project was shared by the governments of Canada and British Columbia, and is built on land provided by the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation. The planning process involved consultations with the general public and victims' families.

Visit the new playground on your next trip to Stanley Park and take a moment to sit and reflect by the Air India Memorial that overlooks beautiful English Bay.

Ceremony Photo Gallery

Click on thumbnail to view the large version.