Memorial Day Weekend 2024: Events, Parades Around Norwalk

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

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

The parade is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. at Veterans Park and end at the Town Green on East Avenue. More information is available here.

In past years, bands participating in the parade have included the Norwalk Fire Department Pipe Band, the Norwalk High School Marching Bears, the Brien McMahon High School Marching Senators, as well as bands from West Rocks, Roton, Ponus Ridge, Nathan Hale Middle Schools.

Below are some other events and parades nearby:

• New Canaan 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 Norwalk 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 Norwalk, 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.