Memorial Day Weekend 2024: Events, Parades Around New Canaan

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

The New Canaan Memorial Day Parade on Monday is the highlight of the three-day Memorial Day Weekend — May 25-27 this year.

The parade will step off from St. Mark’s Church at 9:30 a.m. and proceed down Oenoke Ridge Road to upper Main Street, past the Wayside Cross at God’s Acre, past the firehouse and Town Hall, and continue down Main Street to Lakeview Cemetery. There, parade watchers and marchers will gather with veterans and town officials for remarks about the true meaning and purpose of the Memorial Day holiday. More information is available here.

This year’s Grand Marshal is Brian van der Heyden, ceremony guest speaker will be My Linh Shattan and representing New Canaan clergy will be Rev. Gilbert Burgess, pastor of New Canaan Baptist Church.

No parking will be allowed on Main Street from 8 a.m. until the parade finishes.

In the event of heavy rain, a parade cancelation notice will be posted on the town website and social media pages, and the Memorial Day Ceremony will be conducted in Town Hall at 10 a.m. with limited seating.

Below are some other events and parades nearby:

• Norwalk Memorial Day Parade
• Darien Memorial Day Parade
• Westport Memorial Day Parade
• Trumbull Memorial Day Parade
• Derby-Shelton Memorial Day Parade
• Memorial Day At The Beardsley Zoo

As the observance has changed over the years, many families also use Memorial Day as an occasion to visit New Canaan 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 New Canaan, and residents can enjoy a number of outdoor activities in and around town if the weather allows for it.

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.