Memorial Day Weekend 2024: Things To Do Around Darien

DARIEN, CT — The upcoming Memorial Day service/parade in Darien is part of a nearly 160-year tradition that pays tribute to military personnel who lost their lives in service to their country.

The parade, which is scheduled for May 27 and presented by the Darien Monuments and Ceremonies Commission, is the highlight of the three-day Memorial Day Weekend — May 25-27 this year.

Marchers will step off from the Goodwives Shopping Center at 10 a.m. sharp. The procession will head up the Post Road to Spring Grove Veterans Cemetery.

A ceremony honoring those who lost their lives while serving in the armed forces will take place in the cemetery at 11:15 a.m.

The day before on May 26, the late John J. Droney will be honored with a new wartime street sign thanks to the Darien Monuments and Ceremonies Commission. The sign will be unveiled at noon at Miller Road, off Hoyt Street (Route 106).The public is invited to attend.

Droney served in the U.S. Army during the Korean conflict. He lived on Miller Road, and invited the Boy Scouts to decorate his trailer for the parade down the Boston Post Road every Memorial Day.

Below are some other events and parades nearby:

• New Canaan Memorial Day Parade
• Norwalk Memorial Day Parade
• Greenwich Memorial Day Events
• Westport Memorial Day Parade

As the observance has changed over the years, many families also use Memorial Day as an occasion to visit Darien cemeteries and leave flowers at the graves of family members, regardless of whether they served in the military.

Memorial Day Weekend is also the unofficial kickoff to summer in Darien.

Residents can also check out the Post 53 Memorial Day Food Fair. The annual fundraiser will take place at Tilley Pond Park on Monday, May 27, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., immediately following the parade. More details can be found here.

The history of Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, dates back to 1868, when Gen. John A. Logan called for a day of remembrance to honor the Northern lives lost amid battle during the Civil War that had ended just a few years earlier, according to History.com. As time passed, more and more people called it Memorial Day, and it became a federal holiday in 1971.

Waterloo, N.Y., is considered the birthplace of Memorial Day. The town’s observance on May 5, 1866, predated Logan’s call for a day of remembrance. Local businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of fallen soldiers with flowers and flags.

Until World War I, the holiday honored only those soldiers who died while fighting for the Union in the War, as Southern states honored their war dead on a separate day. After the 116,000-plus American deaths in World War I, the tradition changed to remember all who have died while serving in the military.

Every year, a national moment of remembrance is held at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day. No matter where they are or what they’re doing, Americans are asked to pause for one minute in silence to remember military personnel who have given their lives in service to their country. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the midday time was chosen because it’s a time when many Americans will be enjoying their freedoms on a national holiday.