Memorial Day Weekend 2023: Ceremonies In Harrison

HARRISON, NY — The upcoming Memorial Day ceremonies in Harrison are part of a nearly 160-year tradition that pays tribute to military personnel who lost their lives in service to their country.

The Memorial Day Parade & Ceremony is the highlight of the three-day Memorial Day Weekend — May 27-29 this year.

On Monday, May 29, the Town/Village of Harrison will be holding its Memorial Day Parade & Ceremony. A brief ceremony will take place at 9:30 a.m. at the Veterans Memorial Wall at Ma Riis Park. The parade will then kick off at 10 a.m. at Town Hall, go over the Veterans Memorial Bridge, turning right onto Halstead Ave. and end at the Veterans Building. Remarks will then follow from honored guests and dignitaries inside the Veterans Building.

Below are some other events and parades nearby:

• On Thursday, May 25, the Village of Larchmont and the Town of Mamaroneck will be holding a day of remembrance with a Memorial Day Parade. The parade will kick off at the Chatsworth Avenue Bridge, run along Palmer Ave. and Larchmont Ave., and end at Larchmont Village Hall and Constitution Park. Hot dogs will be served afterwards.
• On Friday, May 26, the Westchester County Memorial Service will take place at 1 p.m. at the Lasdon Park Veterans Memorial.
• On Saturday, May 27, at 10 a.m., the Friends of the African American Cemetery will hold a Memorial Day ceremony to remember and honor those buried at the cemetery located at 215 North St. in Rye (adjacent to the Greenwood Union Cemetery). More info.
• On Sunday, May 28, the Village of Mamaroneck and American Legion Post 90 will be holding the annual Memorial Day Parade. The parade will assemble in front of the Mamaroneck Avenue School, run down Mamaroneck Ave. into the village, make a right onto Prospect Ave., and then up the hill to American Legion Post 90. Following the parade, a remembrance ceremony will take place in front of Post 90.
• On Monday, May 29, the Rye American Legion Post Auxiliary will be holding the parade down Purchase St. with a kickoff at 9:30 a.m. at the train station. The parade will end at City Hall. American Legion Post 128 Commander Fred de Barros will then lead the ceremony. Mayor Josh Cohn, County Executive George Latimer and NYS Assemblyman Steve Otis will also offer welcoming remarks and greetings. More info.

As the observance has changed over the years, many families also use Memorial Day as an occasion to visit Hudson Valley 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 the Hudson Valley. Below are more ways to spend the weekend:

• Rye: Playland Park is open for the season as of May 20.
• Croton-on-Hudson: Croton Point Beach pre-season begins May 27.
• New Rochelle: Glen Island Beach pre-season begins May 27.
• Westchester County: Golf courses are open. For more information, go here.
• Stormville: Stormville Airport Flea Market, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 27 and Sunday, May 28, Stormville Airport.
• Fishkill: SplashDown Beach’s Opening Weekend, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday through Monday, May 27-29, Fishkill.

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.