Massive 8,000-poppy tribute covers Port Perry township offi

For the past two weeks the municipal office in Port Perry has been covered with crocheted poppies. It almost looks like a giant quilt. Kind of like a quilt but more like a wave coming off of the building. Wave of poppies. A wave of poppies. This is the brainchild of Sharon Runnels. It all started a couple of hundred meters away in her tiny flower shop, where for the past four years, she's been displaying this poppy dress for Remembrance Day. It was a big hit in town. This was sort of the start, and everybody would respond to this in such a positive way that I just felt that people wanted a bigger act of remembrance. Last year she went to the township with the idea of creating an installation made up of crocheted poppies. She approached crocheting and knitting groups all over town looking for help. Word quickly spread and before long volunteers from across the region were stepping up to lend a hand. I had people coming from all around whether it be Uxbridge, Oshawa, Whitby, Toronto, East Gwillimbury saying to me can you give me the pattern, Do you have any yarn? I'll get my own yarn. And then they would come back six weeks later, a month later, and I've made a hundred of them or whatever. She even got a few donations from as far away as France and England. Originally, she was hoping to get 7,000 of these poppies. There are 8,000 in this display. And just like the dress in her shop, it's getting a lot of attention from people in town. We said we want to make a point of stopping and seeing it, and I think it's fantastic. Some even come from great lengths. This woman from Ottawa. was moved to tears. My father was in the armed forces so I grew up in that life and this is absolutely gorgeous. It's the most beautiful display I've ever seen. Runnell says this show of patriotism is nothing new in Port Perry. She says they go all out every year with banners on streetlights and displays in storefronts. I just feel taking that time to show that respect is something that a lot of people feel here. Some more than others. This woman says she remembers World War II And the sacrifices that many families made. Every soldier has got a family, has people who remember them. And my wish is that it would never happen again. Runnell says donations of crocheted poppies continue to pour in. She already has another 1,500, which she says will be added to what will be an even bigger installation next year. Greg Ross, CBC News, Port Perry.