Poppies of Goulbourn is an annual exhibition, which sees local volunteers and Museum staff drape a portion of the Museum in handmade poppies in honour of Remembrance Day.

The display is intended to induce a state of reflection, and to make us focus on the critical importance of Remembrance and what it means to be Canadian.

This year, in addition to inviting community members to contribute through making and donating handcrafted poppies, we also invite you to attach a poppy to a portion of netting at the Museum reserved for this purpose- this can be found beside the Heritage Garden behind the Museum. Please make sure to seal the poppy bin after you have donated or removed a poppy to attach to the net! Poppies can be attached to any area of the open netting which you are comfortable reaching. Make sure they are tied on tight!

***Please be cautious near the roadside***

Guidelines for making poppies

  • Poppies must be either 3 inches square or 5 inches square(approximately) and will be attached to 1¾ inch netting – one 3 inch poppy will cover one square and one 5 inch poppy will cover an area of four squares on the net.
  • Poppy colours should follow the current Canadian Legion poppy campaign colours (see examples of inspiration photographs attached with this project) and should be a vibrant red with a charcoal black centre.
  • All yarn used for this project will need to be synthetic because of the outdoor elements.
  • For more detailed instructions, consult these knitting patterns and crochet patterns.
  • Please seal completed poppies in a sealable plastic bag and drop them off in the bin in front of the Museum! We will provide extra baggies in the bin.

Thank you to the firefighters of Ottawa Fire Station 81 for their incredible assistance hanging the poppy net this year!