Memorial Day Weekend 2024: Events, Parades Around Greenwich

GREENWICH, CT — The upcoming Memorial Day events in Greenwich are part of a nearly 160-year tradition that pays tribute to military personnel who lost their lives in service to their country.

There are several events scheduled around town and ways for residents to remember and pay tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Cos Cob

The Cos Cob VFW will hold a small ceremony at the pocket park near the Greenwich Historical Society on Strickland Road on Saturday, May 25 at 10:30 a.m.

Byram

The Byram Veterans Memorial Day parade is set for 1 p.m. on May 26 on Delavan Avenue, from the Byram Veterans Club to Byram-Shubert Library.

On May 27 at 10 a.m., a ceremony will be held at Eugene Morlot Memorial Park on Sue Merz Way to honor the 13 men who attended Byram School and later lost their lives serving the country.

Glenville

On May 26, the Glenville Volunteer Fire Company and 9th District Veterans Association parade will begin at 5 p.m. in downtown Glenville.

Downtown Greenwich

On May 27, the Greenwich American Legion Post 29 will hold its ceremony at 8 a.m. at the Indian Harbor Yacht Club.

Old Greenwich

The Old Greenwich Memorial Day parade is scheduled for May 27 at 10 a.m., from the Sound Beach Volunteer Fire Department.

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

On May 22, American flags will be placed by the American Legion Post 29 and scouts at St. Mary Cemetary, 399 North St.

Memorial Day Weekend is also the unofficial kickoff to summer in Greenwich. Below are more ways to spend the weekend:

The 60th Running of the Greenwich Jim Fixx Memorial Day Races

On May 27 at 8:15 a.m., the 5K race will start on Greenwich Avenue at the intersection of East Elm Street, and the course runs through streets in Central Greenwich, including Bruce Park, and finishes on the track by Havemeyer Field behind Greenwich Town Hall.

The kid’s run starts and finishes on the track following the 5K race.

Greenwich Town Party

While not related to Memorial Day, the annual Greenwich Town Party will be held on May 25. The popular music extravaganza traditionally takes place on Memorial Day Weekend each year to unofficially kick off summer.

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, New York, 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.