How Licking County communities are observing Memorial Day 2024

Maria DeVito, Newark Advocate
Updated ·3 min read
People celebrate Memorial Day at Cedar Hill Cemetery and Newark Memorial Gardens in Newark, Ohio on May 30, 2022.
People celebrate Memorial Day at Cedar Hill Cemetery and Newark Memorial Gardens in Newark, Ohio on May 30, 2022.

Every year on Memorial Day the United States. honors military members who died in service to their county.

Locally, communities throughout Licking County have special events and ceremonies planned to celebrate Memorial Day, which has been a federal holiday since 1971.

Here are the events happening around Licking County this holiday weekend.

Granville

  • Granville's 151st Memorial Day celebration starts at 10:40 a.m. Monday with a parade, beginning at the Broadway and North Main Street intersection and marching to Maple Grove Cemetery, located at 350 E. Maple St. The formal program there starts at 11 a.m. and will feature Jeff Gill, a writer, storyteller, and preacher in central Ohio, as the guest speaker.

Hanover

  • The Hanover American Legion will host a ceremony at Hanover Cemetery, located at 1529 County Highway 275, Newark. The program begins at 10 a.m. with music from the Licking Valley High School band and will feature speakers at 10:30 am. The legion will provide a free lunch after the program at its 1989 W. High St. NE location.

Johnstown

  • Rodgers Garage is to host its annual Memorial Day car meet from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday at 14841 Robins Road. In addition to hundreds of show cars, there event is to include inflatables, giveaways and a variety of food trucks.

Newark

  • Big Bad Stache, a central Ohio cover band that plays a wide range of artists with a focus on rock, pop, blues and alternative, is to take the stage at the Trout Club, 2250 Horns Hill Road, at 6 p.m. Sunday, followed by fireworks at dusk.

  • The city of Newark will hold its annual ceremony at 11 a.m. Monday in Section 25 at Cedar Hill Cemetery, 275 N. Cedar St.

Pataskala

  • Pataskala American Legion Auxiliary Unit will distribute red poppies in exchange for a donation at The Nutcracker Family Restaurant, located at 63 E. Broad St., from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., on Friday. Nationwide, the American Legion Auxiliary raises millions of dollars each year distributing poppies, with 100% of the funds raised going directly to help veterans, military members and their families.

  • Lynd Fruit Farm, 9399 Morse Road SW, is holding its third annual Memorial Day Weekend Craft Fair from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. The show features more than 80 vendors selling hand-crafted items, plus food trucks.

  • Pataskala will kick off its celebration Monday with a 10 a.m. memorial service at Pataskala Cemetery, 9545 Creek Road. Then it moves to Veteran Green Park on South Main Street, where at 11 a.m. they'll read a list of local fallen soldiers and honor them with a 21-gun salute, firing of a replica Civil War cannon and a flyover done by local pilots.

Utica

  • From Saturday through Memorial Day, you can indulge your sweet tooth at the Utica Ice Cream Festival held at Ye Olde Mill, 11324 Mt. Vernon Road, home of Velvet Ice Cream. The festival offers more than 50 craft vendors, 20 food vendors, numerous ice cream stations, live music, ice cream-eating contests, a magic show, face painting and balloon art, COSI exhibits and more.

Columbus Dispatch reporter Belinda M. Paschal contributed to this report.

mdevito@gannett.com

740-607-2175

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Memorial Day 2024: See list of events happening in Licking County