SPOKANE, Wash. – A Veterans Day celebration took place at the Spokane Arena, aiming to honor veterans and raise awareness about mental health issues.
The Yellow Poppy Project, spearheaded by Sara Thompson, was part of the event. Thompson, an organizer and student at Eastern Washington University, handed out around 1,000 poppy seed packets as part of her class project. She encouraged attendees to plant them in visible areas around the community.
Thompson explained the significance of the project, saying that the color yellow has been designated in some regions as the official color to raise awareness of veteran suicide.
“They will battle with it for the rest of their lives,” Thompson said. “You know, it’s not something that goes way and it’s hidden. You know, you don’t necessarily know they’re doing it when you see them, you know? But it’s always there.”
The event, free to the public, began at 10:00 a.m. and marked the first year the ceremony was held indoors. The first 200 veterans were greeted with notes from Woodridge 5th graders, expressing gratitude for their service.
Keirsten Lyons, one of the event organizers, highlighted the importance of making veterans feel welcome.
“It takes a lot of courage to walk through that door sometimes, especially when there’s a lot of people in big crowds,” Lyons said. “But we love our veterans, and we’re going to do everything we can always to support them, and to find the opportunities to get out of that box it’s so easy to put ourselves in.”
The event also featured resources such as Spokane County Veteran Services, the Yellow Poppy Project, Inland Northwest Honor Flights and the 3-48 Golden Angels Comfort Dogs. These resources aimed to provide support and a sense of community for attending veterans.
Parking was available for free in Lot B, located in front of the arena.
