How to celebrate Memorial Day in 2025

STAFF PHOTO/PAUL FRANZ STAFF PHOTO/PAUL FRANZ
Published: 05-22-2025 10:23 AM
Modified: 05-22-2025 2:00 PM |
Editor’s note: The following is a collection of Memorial Day events happening across Franklin County and the North Quabbin region. Know of an event that wasn’t included? Email information to news@recorder.com.
The Memorial Day ceremony will be held Monday, May 26, at 10 a.m. on the town common. If it is raining, the ceremony will instead be held at Town Hall, 412 Main St.
The Memorial Day ceremony will begin at Silver Lake Cemetery on Silver Street on Monday, May 26, at 10 a.m. with a brief service and remarks. From there, the parade will walk to Veterans Park at Main and Exchange streets, where, at 11 a.m., the closing ceremony will be held in downtown Athol.
The parade will kick off at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 26, from the lot across from the former Four Leaf Clover restaurant on South Street and proceed to Center Cemetery. The keynote speaker will be local storyteller Barry Deitz. There will be music by the Falltown String Band and students from the Northfield and Bernardston Elementary schools. The Bernardston Veterans Organization will host its annual chicken barbecue at the Vets Club on Hartwell Street after the program. In the event of rain, the program will take place at the United Church of Bernardston. The parade will be held rain or shine.
The Mary Lyon Church will host the annual Hat ’n Socks Parade on Monday, May 26, beginning at 8 a.m. at 43 Upper St. The parade will head north toward the town cemeteries, loop around the church and end at the veterans memorial in front of the Buckland Historical Museum.
A ceremony and parade honoring veterans will be held on Monday, May 26, at 10 a.m. at West Branch Cemetery on Foundry Village Road. Those wishing to speak and walk in the parade should arrive at the cemetery at 9:30 a.m.
There will be two separate events in Deerfield to mark Memorial Day. The first is a “wear blue: run to remember” event at Frontier Regional School on Sunday, May 25, at 9 a.m. The event will start off with a circle of remembrance before heading out on a 3-mile walk, run or bicycle ride through South Deerfield.
Then, the town’s annual ceremony will be held at Frontier on Monday, May 26, at 8 a.m. The event will start with a ceremonial gun salute and the parade will proceed down North Main Street to the town common at around 8:20 a.m. At around 8:45 a.m., the town will hold its annual ceremony on the town common, which will be followed by visits to cemeteries around the community.
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In the event of rain, the program will instead be held at the Frontier Regional School.
Selectboard members will conduct wreath-laying ceremonies at four locations on Monday, May 26.
The day will begin at 10 a.m. at the memorials at Fire Station 1, 10 East Main St., with the laying of a wreath and the lowering of flags. From that location, the group will proceed to Center Cemetery to lower the flags and pay respects. From there, there will be a wreath placed and flags lowered at Veterans Memorial Field on Moore Street. Lastly, participants will proceed to the Veterans Memorial Bridge that spans the Millers River to place a wreath made of all-natural materials into the river.
The Memorial Day service will begin on Sunday, May 25, at 9:30 a.m. at the Gill Church, 6 Center Road, featuring hymns, music, a Memorial Day address by Upper Pioneer Valley Veterans’ Services District Director Chris Demars. The ceremony will continue at the war memorials with a rose ceremony, flag raising, gun salute and taps. Participants include the Northfield Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9874 and the Marine Corps League Oak Ridge Detachment.
The Upper Pioneer Valley Veterans’ Services District will recognize Memorial Day on Monday, May 26, at 10 a.m. with a parade followed by a ceremony. The parade will begin at Greenfield Middle School and will conclude at Veterans Mall. Parade lineup begins at 9:30 a.m.
The parade will travel down Federal Street, stop at the Federal Street Cemetery for the presentation of a remembrance wreath, turn left onto Maple Street, turn right onto Franklin Street, turn right onto Main Street and stop at the Leavitt-Hovey House Mexican-American War statue. Participants will then proceed to the Greenfield Common for a remembrance wreath presentation and conclude at Veterans Mall.
The ceremony features Brig. Gen. Mark Kalin as the guest speaker. Kalin served in the 1st Army and the Massachusetts Army National Guard, including tours in Bosnia and Afghanistan. Greenfield’s Chief of Staff Erin Anhalt will also present a proclamation to commemorate Memorial Day. The Upper Pioneer Valley Veterans’ Services District welcomes veterans groups and other organizations that are interested in marching in the parade to call 413-772-1571.
The Montague Center Fire Association will sponsor the 71st annual service on the Montague Center common on Sunday, May 25, at 11:15 a.m. Resident Peg Bridges will share memories of life while her husband Lt. Col. Leslie Bridges served 27 years during three major wars.
In Turners Falls, a ceremony will be held on Monday, May 26, at 10 a.m. at Veterans Memorial Park on Avenue A. Representatives from the Montague Selectboard, Montague Elks Lodge, Scouts and the Montague Soldiers Memorial Committee will lead prayers and speeches honoring residents who died while serving in the Armed Forces.
A new stone will be unveiled at the veterans memorial at 11 a.m. on Sunday, May 25.
A ceremony will start at Center Cemetery at 11:05 a.m. There will be a color guard, opening remarks, a brief sermon and prayer, a recital of “My Country, ’Tis of Thee” and a playing of taps. Similar ceremonies will take place at Mountain View Cemetery at 11:40 a.m. and at North New Salem Cemetery at 12:15 p.m.
The Northfield Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9874 will hold a parade on Monday, May 26, starting at 10 a.m. at the Trinitarian Congregational Church, 147 Main St., and will continue down Main Street with stops at Mill Brook, Northfield Elementary School, Pentecost Cemetery and Town Hall. Those participating in the parade should convene at the Trinitarian Congregational Church at 9:30 a.m.
A Memorial Day program is scheduled for Tully Cemetery, 350 Tully Road, at 9 a.m. on Monday, May 26. It will be presented by the Orange American Legion, Cub Scouts Pack 40 and the North Orange Grange. Following the services, a reception will be held at the Tully Fire Station on Millyard Road, where coffee, cold drink and doughnuts will be served.
At 11 a.m., a Memorial Day program will be presented by the Orange American Legion at Memorial Park in downtown Orange (South Main and Water streets).
A Memorial Day parade will start at the town common on Monday, May 26, at 9:30 a.m., hosted by Petersham American Legion Post 415. Town groups and local veterans will march from the common to Center Cemetery, and back to the Petersham Memorial Library where a wreath will be placed on the veterans memorial.
In the event of rain, there will be no parade, but a ceremony will be held inside Town Hall at 9:30 a.m.
A Memorial Day parade will he held on Sunday, May 25, at 9 a.m. beginning at the common on Petersham Road. The vehicle parade around town will be followed by a traditional marching parade with veterans, Scouts and the student Gardner Minutemen Pathfinder Drum Corp. There will be a special tribute to Opal Clark by retired Sen. Stephen Brewer, honoring her military service and her contributions to the community.
To assist in Memorial Day programming, contact Nicole Gough at nicolemgough@gmail.com. Food and drinks will be available.
Residents are invited to attend a parade on Monday, May 26, beginning at 10 a.m. leading from McCusker’s Market on State Street, across the Iron Bridge and over to Arms Cemetery. Speakers, including state Sen. Paul Mark, will recognize veterans of all U.S. wars and hold a special dedication for Ronald Wissman, a Shelburne resident who died during the Vietnam War.
The annual Memorial Day parade and ceremony will take place on Friday, May 23, at 6 p.m. The parade will form at the veterans memorial on School Street in front of the Town Offices. After a brief ceremony, the parade will head down North Main and South Main streets to Riverside Cemetery, where the main ceremony will take place. The parade will then march back to the center of town.
In the event of inclement weather, the Memorial Day ceremony will take place in the Sunderland Elementary School gymnasium, 1 Swampfield Drive, at 6 p.m.
Memorial Day observances will take place on Monday, May 26, at 1 p.m. in front of Town Hall. A ceremony will take place there and then folks will head to the town cemetery, the memorial near the Warwick Free Public Library and the Fellows Memorial. No parade will be held this year.
The Memorial Day ceremony and parade will be held on Sunday, May 25, with the event kicking off at the Whately Congregational Church at 10 a.m. At 11:15 a.m., the parade will leave the church and pa rticipants will walk to the nearby cemetery, where the local Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter will lay a wreath on a veteran’s grave. The group will then return to the town’s war memorial in front of Town Hall for the rest of the ceremony.
The keynote speaker will be the Rev. Cynthia Crosson-Harrington, of the Whately Congregational Church. The Frontier Regional School Marching Band will provide marching music and a solo trumpeter will play taps at the cemetery and war memorial. This year’s event also includes Whately Elementary School students, with grades one through three drawing patriotic pictures and students in fourth through sixth grades invited to write a one-page story about freedom.
The parade will include public safety departments and members of the public. Folks with antique vehicles, tractors or trucks are welcome to participate.