Are you looking for events taking place in your neck of the woods this Memorial Day? Every corner of Tri-Town will be honoring our local veterans with parades and ceremonies, along with the tradition that continues in Rochester with the Rochester Annual Boat Race kicking off at 8:30 am at Grandma Hartley’s Reservoir on Snipatuit Road.
Did you know Rochester has been holding its Memorial Day canoe race since 1934? That means that this year marks the 80th anniversary since the tradition began.
Come out and watch the contestants in their homemade river racers paddle the almost 12 miles to the finish line at Herring Weir on River Road at Route 6 in Mattapoisett.
Don’t forget, Rochester holds its parade the Sunday before Memorial Day at 12:00 pm starting at Town Hall at 1 Constitution Way. The parade will head to the Rochester Veteran’s Memorial at Mary’s Pond Road.
Stick around Mattapoisett after the Rochester boat race Monday for a full day of events scheduled to begin at 1:30 pm at the Mattapoisett Free Library.
Ceremonies will begin with the posting of colors, the Pledge of Allegiance, opening remarks, and prayer, followed by a number performed by the Old Hammondtown School Concert Band.
Representative William Straus will address the crowd, and ORR Junior High student Elise Parker will read the Gettysburg Address before Navy Reserve Commander Paul J. Brawley speaks as the principal speaker. Commander Brawley is the deputy director of the Navy Office of Community Outreach and resides in New Bedford.
After the ceremony, members of the Legion will place wreaths on the war memorials and Parade Marshall Mike Lamoureux will assemble the marchers. The parade will proceed down Water Street, to the Town Wharf to honor vets who lost their lives at sea, and continue to Cushing Cemetery to honor vets who lost their lives on land.
The parade ends at Legion Hall on Depot Street.
In Marion, Memorial Day ceremonies begin on Saturday, May 24 starting at 10:00 am, when members of the Benjamin D. Cushing Post 2425 Veterans of Foreign Wars will meet to place flowers on the graves of vets of all wars, first at Evergreen Cemetery and then continuing on to Marion’s other three cemeteries.
The Annual Town of Marion Memorial Day Parade kicks off at 9:00 am on Monday at the Marion Music Hall after the raising of the flag and Sippican School’s rendition of the National Anthem.
The parade will head south on Front Street to Main Street, onto Spring Street, and then to the Town House for a ceremony. After the ceremony, the parade will continue north on Spring Street to the Old Landing Cemetery for a ceremony alongside the grave of Benjamin D. Cushing.
From there, the parade heads north onto Mill Street to Ryders Lane to Old Landing Veterans Memorial Park for another ceremony and refreshments.
If it rains, all events will take place inside the Sippican School on Spring Street.
The Town of Marion wants to remind everyone that all veterans are welcome to participate in the ceremonies and march in the parade.
By Jean Perry
