A variety of activities are planned in the Aurora area to celebrate Memorial Day weekend.
Aurora is set to celebrate the holiday with its annual Memorial Day parade scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Monday, May 25, at the intersection of Benton and River streets in the city’s downtown.
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Longtime community member and U.S. Marine Corps veteran James “Jim” Butler will serve as the parade’s grand marshal, city of Aurora officials said in a press release.
The parade will also feature local veterans groups and military organizations, including Roosevelt Aurora American Legion Post 84, Fox Valley Marines Detachment 1233, the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Commission, the release said.
Marching bands set to participate in the parade include those from East Aurora High School, West Aurora High School, Metea Valley High School, Granger Middle School and Hill Elementary School, along with the Aurora Roosevelt American Legion Band, according to organizers.
Others taking part in the parade include Lamplighters Barbershop Chorus, Costumers with a Cause, the Phillips Park Zoo, the Aurora Public Library’s Bookmobile, the East Aurora NJROTC, the West Aurora High School Cheer Team and Diamond Dance Academy, the release said.
Several events are planned in St. Charles on Memorial Day, including cemetery ceremonies, a parade, a memorial service and a community breakfast fundraiser.
“Let’s come together as a community to honor our fallen service members on Memorial Day,” said St. Charles Mayor Clint Hull in a press release. “It is so important to remember and show respect for all those who have sacrificed their lives in the service of our nation.”
Flag-raising and cemetery ceremonies in St. Charles will begin at 6 a.m. Monday at Baker Community Center, 101 S. Second St., with the Boy Scouts posting colors, an honor guard and an honorary gun salute, organizers said.
Boy Scout troops will then lead flag ceremonies beginning at the South Cemetery on the east side of Seventh Avenue, north of Madison, continuing on to the North Cemetery on the west side of Fifth Avenue, north of Johnor Avenue, then concluding at Union Cemetery on the east side of Fifth Avenue, north of Stonehedge Road.
St. Charles veterans will host a veterans community breakfast fundraiser from 7:30 to 10 a.m. Monday at Baker Memorial Church, 307 Cedar Ave. The cost of the breakfast is $5 per person.
For all current and former fire, police, uniformed Scouts, emergency services personnel and members of the military and veterans, the breakfast is free.
St. Charles will hold its Memorial Day parade beginning at 10 a.m. at Sixth and Main streets, with the parade continuing to Riverside Avenue.
Community members are invited to bring a flag and walk in the parade as a tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice, the release said. Anyone interested in joining the Flags of Honor group should email [email protected].
A memorial service will immediately follow the parade at 10:45 a.m. at the Freedom Shrine along the Fox River, west of the former St. Charles Police Department, 211 N. Riverside Ave., officials said. In the case of bad weather, the ceremony will be held inside St. Charles Fire Station 1, at 112 N. Riverside Ave.
The memorial service will include Hull reading the annual proclamation, a keynote address and taps being played.
In Geneva, the American Legion Fox River Geneva Post 75 will step off its annual Memorial Day parade beginning at 10 a.m. Monday from the Geneva Train Station downtown.
The parade will feature a color guard, local veterans, youth Scouting organizations and the Geneva High School marching band, according to a press release.
The procession will travel north on Third Street to the World War I Memorial in Wheeler Park, where a Memorial Day ceremony will be held, organizers said.
Third Street will be closed during the parade, as will the intersection of State and Third streets, officials said. Although the parade is short in duration, motorists are encouraged to use Route 25 as an alternate route, according to officials.
The United Methodist Church of Geneva will host its annual Memorial Day pancake and sausage breakfast at 7 a.m. Monday in the public parking lot on the north side of the 200 block of Hamilton Street.
Batavia Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1197 will hold a Memorial Day remembrance ceremony beginning at 11 a.m. Monday at the post, 645 S. River St. in Batavia. The public is invited to the event.
The Yorkville American Legion is inviting all area residents to attend its annual Memorial Day event starting at 11:30 a.m. on Monday at Town Square Park, 301 N. Bridge St. in Yorkville.
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The ceremony will feature the reading of names printed on the memorial in Yorkville Town Square, music by the Yorkville Middle School Band and speakers, organizers said.