Gander Prepares for 25th Anniversary Commemoration
GANDER, L. — Twenty-five years after the town of about 9,500 people took in 38 passenger planes carrying more than 6,500 stranded travellers when S. airspace closed on Sept. 11, 2001, Gander is again preparing to welcome visitors for an anniversary commemoration. Hotels in the central Newfoundland town are nearly full, according to Cory Abbott, marketing manager for Steele Hotels, which operates four properties in Gander.
"We've been blocked-in there for a fair bit," Abbott said in an interview Tuesday. "We did have some (rooms) available ... but it's really filled in, in the last month or so." Abbott said the town is "pretty much booked solid" for the event and that it's always exciting when the so-called "plane people" return to Gander and share their stories.
Mayor Percy Farwell said the town has held a commemoration event every year since it hosted thousands of stranded travellers after the terrorist attacks in the United States. The event is about commemorating the people lost, and attendance tends to spike on milestone anniversaries, he said.
"We also acknowledge the connection that transpired with our little neck of the woods here and how meaningful that turned out to be," Farwell said in an interview Tuesday. "(We were) responding to people that were in distress and needed a lot of life's necessities like food and shelter. Mostly they needed love and compassion because it was a very distressing time."
A Town Forever Linked to 9/11
The people of Gander rallied around what they called the "plane people," converting schools and church halls into shelters and taking many travellers into their own homes while providing food, hot showers and other assistance. Passengers were housed in schools, church halls and residents' own homes for days, in an outpouring of support recounted in the hit musical "Come From Away."
Dignitaries and Speakers
Dignitaries expected at the commemoration include Governor General Louise Arbour, former prime minister Jean Chrétien, Premier Tony Wakeham, Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson and S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra. The guest list this year is "a little more high-end," Farwell said.
This year's speakers include David Collenette, who was Canada's minister of transportation in 2001 and helped oversee Operation Yellow Ribbon, Canada's emergency response to help safely land 200 diverted aircraft and care for the people on board.
Ambassador Hoekstra's Remarks
Hoekstra, who has caused controversy in Canada by criticizing the "elbows up" campaign against American tariffs and by expressing irritation with Canadians' response to S. President Donald Trump's rhetoric about making the country the 51st state, said the 9/11 attacks left a lasting mark on him and the S. The people of Newfoundland showed what community really means during a dark time, he said. Tens of thousands of Canadians have signed a petition asking the federal government to kick Hoekstra out of the country and request his removal as ambassador.
Ceremony Details
Gander's arena will host the formal ceremony on Sept. 11 with speeches by dignitaries and musical performances by Newfoundland artists including the Ennis Sisters and Great Big Sea's Alan Doyle. The facility can usually accommodate 2,000 people, but Farwell said he wouldn't be surprised if 2,500 crammed in. An invite-only performance of "Come From Away" for dignitaries is also planned; the professional production is in its fourth year in Gander.
A Delicate Time in Relations
Farwell acknowledged the current climate in S. relations, saying there's no question that it's a delicate time in the relationship, but the events that happened in Gander 25 years ago are outside the realm of trade policy and politics.