Memorial Day events scheduled in NWCT

Memorial Day, May 26, will be celebrated with a variety of community events in each of the six Region One towns.

In North Canaan, parade participants line up at Town Hall starting at 10 a.m. and step off at 10:30 a.m. The parade will conclude at the Doughboy statue with a ceremony to follow. Six new flag poles were installed at the Doughboy ahead of the event. Each one represents a branch of service. Following the ceremony, VFW Couch Pipa Post 8751 will unveil two new monuments: one for victims of Agent Orange and another for Purple Heart recipients.

The parade in Falls Village will begin promptly at 9:45 a.m., with the lineup beginning at 9:30 a.m. at Lee H. Kellogg School. From there, participants will proceed down to the Falls Village Town Green, where a ceremony with a guest speaker will be held. Immediately following the ceremony, community members are invited to the new cafe, “Off The Trail,” where refreshments and treats will be provided from various organizations.

The town of Sharon will offer its annual parade starting at the Shopping Center at 10 a.m. Prior to Memorial Day, on Saturday and Sunday, The Voice of Arts “Fine Arts Festival” will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the Town Green.

In Salisbury, community members will gather to watch the parade that begins at 10 a.m. Kicking off at Scoville Memorial Library, the parade marches along Route 41 via Main Street and ends at the Salisbury cemetery to honor veterans.

Cornwall starts a day of memorials with a service at the North Cornwall cemetery at 9 a.m. The Seamans Memorial in West Cornwall will follow at 10 a.m. The parade marches through Cornwall Village at 11 a.m., concluding with a ceremony at the green and a carnival on Bolton Hill Road. New this year will be a military flyover and a rededication of 13 Revolutionary War veteran graves. Bill Dinneen and Warren Stevens refurbished the grave markers and will lead the ceremony on Sunday, May 25.

Beginning at 9:30 a.m., the Kent annual parade will kick off a day of activities. The parade will move from Kent Center School to Elizabeth Street, along Route 341 to the Veterans Memorial next to Swift House, and then back to Main Street where it will proceed north to the Community House. Throughout the route, wreaths will be laid to memorialize and honor those who have died in service. Proclamations and declarations, such as the Gettysburg Address will be read, “Taps” will be played, and 21 gun salute will be fired off. After the parade, the Kent Lions Club will provide ice cream at the Community House. Community members are also invited to attend the Land Trust picnic from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the Land Trust field located on route 7, south of town. The picnic will offer a BBQ Lunch, live music, outdoor crafts and games, wildlife discovery, and pollinator awareness activities. Weather dependent, guests are encouraged to look to the sky for a military jet flyover. In case of rain, festivities will be moved indoors to the Kent Community House, still beginning at 9:30 a.m.