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Hundreds mourn Cory Monteith at Vancouver candlelight vigil

DH Vancouver Staff
DH Vancouver Staff
|
Dec 19 2017, 7:58 am
Hundreds mourn Cory Monteith at Vancouver candlelight vigil

Earlier this Friday evening, several hundred fans of Vancouverite Cory Monteith gathered at the make-shift memorial outside the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel to pay tribute to the late star. The large crowd spilled onto the roadway to the point that Vancouver Police had to shut off vehicle traffic from a portion of Canada Place Way.

The memorial for Monteith has grown considerably since it first began last Sunday morning, just hours after the announcement of his death on Saturday night. Tonight’s Vancouver tribute comes a week after the actor passed away from a deadly heroin and alcohol cocktail in his 21st floor hotel guest room. His body was cremated on Tuesday shortly after it was released by the coroner.

Fans of all ages were present at the 8 p.m. candlelight vigil and they sung O Canada and several songs that were performed on Glee. Balloons were passed around for the crowd to write messages on, and they were later released into the sky to “send it off to Cory.” Richard Monteith, a cousin of Cory’s and among the first to lay flowers outside the hotel’s entrance, was present at the Vancouver vigil and also spoke fondly of his late cousin.

However, the evening did not go without interruption. Water from a balcony above was splattered onto the crowd early on during the vigil, and the possible presence of the infamous Westboro Baptist Church had some in the crowd worried when the group took to Twitter and threatened to make an illegal attempt to cross the border to protest Monteith’s Vancouver vigil. Westboro is currently barred from Canada for its hate speech practices.

Monteith’s girlfriend Lea Michele, who also stars on Glee, was reportedly in Vancouver to mourn with her late boyfriend’s family. Eyewitnesses report that she was seen visiting the make-shift memorial outside the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Featured Image: Cheryl Chan