Nanaimo’s premier landmark, The Bastion, was built between 1853 and 1855 by the Hudson’s Bay Company to defend its coal mining operations. Managed by the Nanaimo Museum it now serves as a tourist information centre and hold exhibits on the history of the building.
At night this uniquely shaped building is lit, sometimes by colourful lights, each with their own significance. Track the color changes and their meaning for the remainder of this year!
March 17, 2021 – GREEN; St. Patrick’s Day
St. Patrick’s Day observes of the death of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. The holiday has evolved into a celebration of Irish culture with parades, special foods, music, dancing, drinking and a whole lot of green.
March 21, 2021 – BLUE & YELLOW; World Syndrome Day
March 21 is a global awareness day for World Down Syndrome Day which began in 2006. The 21st of March (the 3rd month of the year) was selected to signify the uniqueness of the triplication (trisomy) of the 21st chromosome which causes Down syndrome.
March 25, 2021 – BLUE & WHITE; 200th Anniversary of the Revolution of Greek Independence
March 25 is the 200th anniversary of The Greek Revolution of 1821 and a pivotal chapter in Greek history. This was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between 1821 and 1830.
April 1, 2021 – YELLOW, GREEN, PINK, ORANGE, BLUE & PURPLE; Easter
One of the principal holidays, or feasts, of Christianity, Easter marks the Resurrection of Jesus three days after his death by crucifixion.
April 6, 2021 – PURPLE; National Dental Hygienists Week
National Dental Hygienists Week (NDHW) is celebrated annually April 4-10, highlighting the importance of maintaining good oral health practices while helping Canadians to understand the vital role that dental hygienists play in the health care system. The theme "Oral Health for Total Health," reminds everyone that taking care of your mouth, teeth, and gums positively impacts other aspects of your lives. The colour purple is associated with dental hygiene, and has been the official colour of dental professionals since 1897 when lilac was first chosen for the emblem of the National Association of Dental Faculties. The Bastion will be coloured purple April 6 – 8, 2021
April 9, 2021 – GREEN, GREY, BLUE & RED; Vimy Ridge Day
Vimy Ridge Day is a day to commemorate the deaths and casualties of members of the Canadian Corps in the Battle of Vimy Ridge (northern France), which took place during First World War. The holiday has been observed annually on 9 April since 2003. It is a non-statutory observance.
April 11, 2021 – TEAL & MAGENTA; World Parkinson’s Day
Parkinson’s disease was first identified in 1817 by British doctor James Parkinson, who described various symptoms of what was then called the “shaking palsy.” He was a neurologist, geologist, scientist and activist. He was born April 11, 1755. World Parkinson's Day each year is celebrated on his birthday and to focus attention on Parkinson's awareness. More than 200 years later, there’s still no cure, but researchers are making progress in a number of areas, looking at the causes of the disease, improving patients’ quality of life, and hoping for an eventual cure.
June 1, 2021 – RED, ORANGE, YELLOW, GREEN, BLUE & PURPLE; Pride Month
Every year, during the month of June, the LGBT community celebrates in a number of different ways. Across the globe, various events are held during this special month as a way of recognising the influence LGBT people have had around the world. Why was June chosen? Because it is when the Stonewall Riots took place, way back in 1969. As well as being a month long celebration, Pride month is also an opportunity to raise political awareness of current issues facing the community. The Bastion will be coloured for the month of June.
July 1, 2021 – RED & WHITE; Canada Day
Canada Day, observed on July 1st, is a national holiday marking the anniversary of Confederation in 1867, when the British North America Act came into effect. It was originally known as Dominion Day until it was renamed in 1982.
October 7, 2021 – TEAL; International Trigeminal Neuralgia Awareness Day
Trigeminal Neuralgia Awareness Day is on October 7 and serves as an opportunity for those living with facial pain and their loved ones to come together to raise awareness, educate people about this rare condition, and raise money for support organizations and research. Trigeminal neuralgia is pain associated with your trigeminal nerve, which you may feel in your lips, eyes, nose, scalp, forehead, upper jaw and/or lower jaw. Everyone’s symptoms are different: you may experience extreme, sporadic, sudden burning or shock-like pain in the face that lasts a few seconds or minutes. For some people, the pain is constant aching, throbbing and/or stabbing.
October 12, 2021 RED, BROWN, YELLOW & ORANGE; Thanksgiving Day
Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day is an annual Canadian holiday, held on the second Monday in October, which celebrates the harvest and other blessings of the past year.
October 21, 2021 – PURLE & BLUE; National Disability Employment Awareness Month
Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day is an annual Canadian holiday, held on the second Monday in October, which celebrates the harvest and other blessings of the past year.
October 31, 2021 – ORANGE; Halloween
Halloween is observed annually on the night of 31 October. It is believed to have originated primarily as a Celtic celebration marking the division of the light and dark halves of the year, when the boundary between the living and the dead was believed to be at its thinnest. Halloween customs, such as wearing disguises to ward off ghosts and offering food to appease malevolent spirits, were brought to Canada in the mid-to-late 1800s by Irish and Scottish immigrants. North America’s first recorded instance of dressing in disguise on Halloween was in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1898, while the first recorded use of the term trick or treat was in Lethbridge, Alberta, in 1927.
November 11, 2021 – RED; Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day was first observed in 1919 throughout the British Commonwealth. It was originally called “Armistice Day” to commemorate armistice agreement that ended the First World War on Monday, November 11, 1918, at 11 a.m.—on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. The poppy is the symbol of Remembrance Day. Replica poppies are sold by the Royal Canadian Legion to provide assistance to Veterans. The Bastion will be coloured red November 10 – 12.
December 22, 2021 – RED & GREEN; Christmas
Christmas (which means "The Mass of Christ") is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. The Bastion will be coloured red and green December 22 – January 1
Credit: www.nanaimo.ca