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Local Memorial Day Events...

By Mary Shoemaker and Laura Miller May 27, 2016
Teaching the meaning of Memorial Day to your children can be tricky. It's easy to get lost in the rush of picnics, parades and fun during what many see as the unofficial start to summer. However, communities all around the United States will hold celebrations to pay respect and remembrance to those who have died serving our country. These events can be a wonderful way to teach your children about the true meaning of Memorial Day.

Visit our Calendar or see below to find a Memorial Day event near you.



Did you know that ...
  • The Grand Army of the Republic began decorating the graves of fallen service members with flowers in May 1868, which was then known as "Decoration Day".
  • On the Thursday before Memorial Day, small American flags are placed at each of the 400,000+ gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery and other cemeteries nation-wide.
  • To encourage more people to observe Memorial Day, Congress passed the National Moment of Remembrance Act in 2000, which asks people to stop what they are doing at 3:00pm local time and observe a minute of silence to honor those who lost their lives defending the country. 
  • On Memorial Day, the flag should first be raised to the top of the staff, then slowly lowered to half-staff, until noon when it should be raised to the top of the staff for the rest of the day.
  • Red poppies are considered the Memorial Day flower. There is a poem called "In Flanders Fields" that refers to the fields of poppies growing among soldiers' graves during the First World War.
"We come, not to mourn our dead soldiers, but to praise them." ~Francis A. Walker


Memorial Day events, runs and parades

Saturday, May 28

Celebrate Weston 5K kids fun run and walk. The race is Weston High School's largest fundraiser. All runners and walkers welcome. 8:30am at Weston High School, 115 School Road. $25.

Greenwich Town Party - live music, food and children's activities. Kick off begins 10 am Roger Sherman Park. Greenwich residents only. 

Check out Bridgeport Bluefish games all weekend.

Tropical butterflies will be spending the summer at the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, with the opening of "Flutter Zone," until Labor Day.


Members of the Greater Bridgeport Youth Orchestras will present a free family concert on the Great Lawn of the Pequot Library in Fairfield this Saturday. 

A new program Wild! Saturdays at the Stamford Museum and Nature Center enables guests to prepare the meals for animals. 

 

Sunday, May 29

The Rowayton Memorial Day Parade starts at noon from the Community Center to Downtown. Pick your favorite spot along Rowayton Avenue or McKinley Street. Then, head on over to the Fire House for hot dogs and soda, hosted by our local firefighters and their families. Be sure to check out the Rowayton Arts Center’s Annual Art Show at Pinkney Park. 

 

Greenwich Sound Beach Volunteer Fire Department Memorial Day Parade starts at Sound Beach Ave at 10:00am and finishes at Binney Park. Fire Truck Parade 2 p.m. in front of the Byram Veterans Club at 300 Delavan Ave., and proceeds on Mill, South Water and William streets, and includes a ceremony at the Byram Shubert Library.


The Stamford Memorial Day Parade is Sunday at 11am from the corner of Summer and Hoyt Streets. 

 

Monday, May 30

Greenwich: The Jim Fixx Five Mile Run is scheduled to start at 8:15 am, with a half-mile run for children through middle school age on the Havemeyer Field Track, behind Greenwich Town Hall. Runners may register in person at Threads and Treads. 

 

The Darien Memorial Day Parade begins at 10:00 am at the Goodwives Shopping Center, and ends at the Soldier's Monument in the Connecticut Veterans Cemetery. The parade will include the Milford Volunteers Ancient Fife and Drum Corps along with local children's groups. A ceremony at Veteran's Cemetery will immediately follow the parade. 

 

The New Canaan parade begins at 9:30 am at St. Mark's Church on Oenoke Ridge, continues on Main Street to Lakeview Cemetery where a memorial ceremony will be held.

 

Wilton’s Memorial Day parade is scheduled to take place at 10 a.m. at 21 River Road in Wilton Center and end with a ceremony for veterans at Hillside Cemetery, 70 Ridgefield Road.

 

The Memorial Day Parade in Westport begins at 9 am at Saugatuck Elementary School and travels up Riverside Avenue, over the Post Road and on to Town Hall. Coffee and doughnuts available at the starting point of the parade from 7:30 -11:30 am.

 

Norwalk The parade will begin at 10 am from Veterans Memorial Park and proceed up Van Zant Street to East Avenue and the Norwalk Green. 




For further reading, visit:
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs