CHESTERTOWN — Long after the Tea Party tourists have left town, the Memorial Day parade and remembrance in Chestertown on Monday, May 26 — long a locals’ favorite — will honor veterans who died serving their country.
The Memorial Day Committee is inviting members of the community to participate in the parade by creating a float or showcasing vehicles of interest. Walking groups with patriotic themes also are welcome. No preregistration is required.
Participants will gather at 9 a.m. at Dixon Drive. The parade will step off at 10 a.m. and proceed down High Street to Memorial Park.
In advance of the parade, from 9 to 10 a.m., entertainment will be provided by Chester River Voices and the Ukulele Club.
RiverArts will be on hand to distribute “thank you cards” that will be sent to veterans. Or you can make your own. The community arts organization also will be selling tissue paper poppies.
Following the parade, keynote speaker Aubrey Sarvis, an Army veteran, will give a short presentation on the Korean War, which took the lives of tens of thousands of Americans.
“It’s often called ‘The Forgotten War’ because most people alive in the U.S. today could not tell you what it is or was. It was never even officially declared a war,” said Sarvis, a member of Sumner Hall’s board of directors.
Vanessa Isaacs Ringgold, Sumner Hall’s president, will talk about Memorial Day’s origins and local veterans will read the names of Kent County service members killed in action in Korea.
To close things out, local veterans will be acknowledged with a moment of silence as trumpeter Brad Holloman plays “Taps.”