Memorial Day 2024: Parades, ceremonies in Seacoast NH and southern Maine are listed here

Memorial Day is Monday, May 27. Here is a roundup of parades and observances planned in communities in Seacoast New Hampshire and southern York County, Maine. If your town has an event you would like to see listed, email news@seacoastonline.com.

Arundel

Residents in Arundel will observe Memorial Day on Sunday, May 26, with a brief ceremony at the fire station at 468 Limerick Road at 11 a.m. According to Jake Hawkins, the president of the Arundel Historical Society, which is organizing the event, an honor roll of the town's veterans will be recited. A minister will lead the invocation at the ceremony, and a wreath will be placed at the scene. Taps will be performed, and there will be a rifle salute. Students from the Mildred L. Day Elementary School also will sing.

Dover

All are invited to the Woodman Museum's Memorial Day celebration, Monday, May 27, at 11 a.m. at the Civil War Veteran Ceremony Monument in Pine Hill Cemetery for a ceremony honoring all of Dover’s veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of their country. This year’s service will be specially dedicated to the lives of Capt. Jack Casey and Capt. Ann Darby Reynolds of Dover. The ceremony will include a presentation of colors and addresses by local veterans and the executive director.

Durham

On Monday, May 27, there will be a Remembrance Ceremony at Memorial Park on Main Street to pay tribute to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to serve and protect our country. The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. on Main Street with special guest speakers, musical tributes, laying of the wreath at Memorial Park and more.

Epping

Memorial Day Parade is Monday, May 27 at 10 a.m., starting at 67 Railroad Ave.

Exeter

A Memorial Day parade and ceremony will take place on Monday, May 27.  The day will start off with a ceremony at Swasey Parkway at 10 a.m., and wind along Front Street to Gale Park, with guest speakers and a flag ceremony. The ceremonies will conclude in the Exeter Cemetery.

Hampton area 

The American Legion Post 35 of the Hamptons invites the public to attend its Memorial Day observances on Monday, May 27. Ceremonies are at 8 a.m. at the Hampton Beach Marine Memorial; 9 a.m. in Hampton Falls at Weare Common; 10 a.m. North Hampton parade, followed by a gathering at the North Hampton School; and 11:30 a.m., parade through Hampton, followed by services at High Street Cemetery.

Kennebunk

The town’s parade will step off at 2 p.m., Monday, May 27, in front of the Kennebunk Police Station on Summer Street and will proceed south on Main Street. The procession will stop on the bridge at the Mousam River, where a wreath will be placed on the water to honor those who served or died at sea. The procession will continue south, turn around on Friend Street and head back to where it started, stopping for brief ceremonies at the monuments near Kennebunk Savings and Washington Park.

Kennebunkport

Kennebunkport will give a 21-gun salute to fallen heroes in four ceremonies on Monday, May 27. American Legion Post 159 will host its first ceremony at 7:30 a.m. at the Cape Porpoise Memorial, followed by one at the Arundel Cemetery at 8 a.m. and the SP4 Terry Downs Memorial at 8:15 a.m. The last salute will take place at 8:45 a.m. at North Street Cemetery.  The Memorial Day parade kicks off at 9:30 a.m. at Mason Hall, turning right on Maine Street and onto Spring Street. From there, the parade goes into Kennebunk to Coopers Corner (Routes 9 and 35) and does a U-turn to return to Dock Square for a ceremony at 10 a.m. Following the parade, there will be a wreath laying at American Legion Post 159 and a barbecue for members and veterans at noon.

Kittery

The Kittery/Eliot VFW Post 9394 will be hosting a ceremony in observance of Memorial Day at the Orchard Grove Cemetery, beginning at 9 a.m. on Monday, May 27. The ceremony will feature local speakers.

North Hampton

The day's events will start with a parade at 10 a.m. starting at the North Hampton Public Library and proceeding to the North Hampton School.  A memorial service will take place at the school immediately following the parade.  A barbecue will follow, which is free, though donations will be accepted.

Portsmouth

The 2024 Memorial Day Ceremony on Monday, May 27, at 10 a.m., will be held at the USS Albacore Museum Memorial Garden, 569 Submarine Way, Portsmouth.

Memorial Day wreath-laying will be held Friday, May 24 at 11 a.m. at Prescott Park waterfront by the anchor sculpture. The ceremony includes a performance of patriotic music by the Portsmouth Middle School ensemble and a wreath-laying on the Piscataqua River to honor those service members lost at sea.

The city and American Legion Post 168 present a Memorial Day Parade on Monday, May 27, from 1-3 p.m., starting on Parrott Avenue and pausing at South Cemetery for a brief ceremony. The parade route travels from Parrott Avenue to Pleasant Street to Market Square, and then down Congress Street to Middle Street to Richards Avenue where the route crosses South Street to the cemetery. After the ceremony the parade continues along South Street to Junkins Avenue and concludes on Parrott Avenue.

Rochester

The Rochester Veterans Council will host the annual Memorial Day Parade, on Monday, May 27. The parade will commence promptly at 10:30 a.m. from Holy Rosary Church, on North Main Street, announced by a cannon shot. The procession will then make its way towards the historic Arched Bridge over the Cochecho River. A memorial service will be held, featuring a performance of taps by the 18th Dover, 2nd NH Regiment, Revolutionary War reenactors. Following the service, the parade will continue down North Main Street, through the heart of downtown, and onto South Main Street, concluding at the Rochester Common. Attendees can then participate in the ceremonies at the Field of Honor.

Heroism will be on display at the Rochester common with the Field of Honor with 550 U.S. flags, beginning Saturday, May 25 and will remain in place until dismantling early Tuesday morning, May 28. The event is free to the public. Each night at 7, a bugler will play taps and a bagpiper will walk among the field of flags to commemorate the memory of members of all branches of the armed forces. On Monday, May 27, the Rochester Memorial Day Parade will end at the Rochester Common at approximately 11 a.m., and a Memorial Day Ceremony will take place immediately after. The Rochester Veterans Council, along with the American Legion Post 7, will open the ceremony with the presentation of colors followed by the laying of the wreaths for each branch of the military. Mayor Paul Callaghan will welcome all in attendance and provide opening remarks. The keynote speaker will be Ret. Brig. General Don Bolduc. For those who need to sit, please bring a chair to the ceremony.

Sanford

Members of the Sanford Veterans Memorial Committee will meet at the Dunkin Donuts at 925 Main St. and 7:30 a.m. on Monday, May 27, and will travel to several local cemeteries to lay wreaths and hold short ceremonies. The public is invited. The committee's annual Memorial Day Parade will step off at the Armory on William Oscar Emery Drive at 10 a.m. After proceeding through Gowen Park, the parade will turn north and march toward Springvale. According to Gordon Kendall, the chair of the committee, veteran Becky Conley, the commander of the local AMVETS chapter, will serve as the parade's grand marshal. After the parade, the community will have a ceremony at the gazebo in the Walgreens parking lot at the corner or Main and Bridge streets, according to Kendall.

Somersworth

The city of Somersworth, through its veterans organizations, will celebrate Memorial Day on Monday, May 27. Memorial services will be held at 9 a.m. at Forest Glade Cemetery, at 9:30 a.m. at Greek Orthodox Cemetery, at 9:45 a.m. at Mt. Calvary Cemetery, at 10:15 a.m. at Holy Trinity Cemetery and at 10:30 a.m. at Tri City Covenant Church Cemetery

The Memorial Day parade will form at the American Legion parking lot at 11 a.m. and will step off at 11:30 a.m. sharp. Brief ceremonies will be held at Veterans Memorial Park (former City Hall) and at the Berwick/Somersworth Bridge..

Stratham

At noon, the Stratham Volunteer Fire Department will have a memorial service outside the Fire Station at the flagpole. At 1 p.m., a parade will start forming at the Jack Rabbit Lane entrance to Stratham Hill Park under direction of parade marshal Dave Emanuel. It will include the Cooperative Middle School band, color guards, Fire Department, Scout groups, antique vehicles and any others who wish to participate. At 1:30 p.m., the parade will march from Jack Rabbit Lane, east onto Portsmouth Avenue to Stratham Hill Park. At 1:45 p.m., the Memorial Day program will begin at the Veterans Memorial Garden at Stratham Hill Park.

Wells

The Wells Memorial Day parade will be held on Monday, May 27, kicking off at 9 a.m. The parade will march from Wells High School, down Sanford Road, to Ocean View Cemetery for a ceremony.  During the ceremony, the town will honor the graves of brothers Elbridge and Leroy Hanson, who were killed in action during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in France in October 1918. The ceremony will include musical performances by Atlantic Harmonies and the Wells Ogunquit School Jr/Sr High.

York

York will hold its Memorial Day Parade on Monday, May 27, at 10 a.m. The parade will begin from the staging area at St. Christopher's Church on Route 1A and then proceed southbound to the First Parish Cemetery, where a brief ceremony will take place in the green behind Town Hall. The York High Schoolband, the York Middle School band, and the Piscataqua Junior Rangers Fife & Drum Corps will perform. All local veterans are invited to march at the front of the parade.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Memorial Day 2024: Parades, ceremonies in Seacoast NH and Maine