The following Memorial Day observations are scheduled for the weekend:
Saturday
LEWISTON: Memorial Day parade will begin at 9:30 a.m. in Kennedy Park, move to Auburn and back again over the Longley Bridge, ending at Veterans Memorial Park at Main and Lincoln streets. The ceremony will begin around 10:30 a.m.
Units invited include veterans’ posts and their color guards, marching members, Knights of Columbus, Kora Temple, Elks, Rotary, Eagles, Daughters of the American Revolution, Boy and Girl Scouts, Junior Air Force ROTC, Civil Air Patrol, Young Marines, police, sheriff and fire departments from any cities or towns, special floats, horse riders, miniature horses, all military branches, National Guard and Reserve units. All are invited to participate.
The ceremony at the park will include the national anthem, a religious reading, speeches by mayors of Lewiston and Auburn and politicians.
There will be a memorial service and placing of the wreath at the Freedom is not Free monument by Gold Star Mothers, followed by three cannon shots by VFW Post 1603 and taps by Norm Bussiere.
Chaplains from veterans posts will read the names of their members who died during the past year, followed by the unveiling of the 30th stone with 216 names and the emblem of the Gold Star Mothers.
There will also be a ribbon cutting for the new Gold Star Mothers walkway.
Those attending should bring chairs.
Sunday
PARIS: Memorial Day celebration at the Veterans Home, 477 High St., will be held at 2 p.m. Guest speaker is Paris Town Manager Victor Hodgkin. There will be music, readings, a flag raising and presentation of colors by the Western Maine Veterans Advisory Committee. Tours of the facility will be available after the celebration.
WILTON: Memorial Day observations will take place at the monument downtown at 1 p.m. Ray Wiers will recite “In Flanders Fields.” Rep. Russell Black, R-Wilton, will speak. Wreaths will be placed on the monument and dropped in the brook. The ceremony will be followed by a procession led by the Maine State Police Honor Guard from the monument to the Wilton’s Lion’s Club on Main Street. Covered wagon ride available. A prayer service and wreaths will be placed at monuments there. Light refreshments served afterward.
Monday
FARMINGTON: American Legion Roderick-Crosby Post 28 will hold Memorial Day services starting with a wreath laying ceremony at the World War I Monument on upper Main Street at 9 a.m. A service will be held at the Post home at High and Middle streets at 9:30 a.m., and the parade will begin at 10 a.m., including stops to lay wreaths at Meetinghouse Park and Courthouse Cemetery. After the parade, a light lunch will be served by the Auxiliary at the Post.
FAYETTE, LEEDS: Prayer services will be held at the Fayette Memorial at 12:30 p.m. and at the Leeds Memorial in Leeds Center at 1:15 p.m.
HARRISON: Memorial Day parade will begin at 9 a.m. with a service after at the Calvary Community Church at about 10:15 a.m.
JAY: Memorial Day ceremonies for Jay, Livermore and Livermore Falls will begin at the Livermore Falls Memorial Bridge for a prayer and laying of a wreath by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3335 at 7 a.m. Additional prayer ceremonies will be held at the Knights of Columbus 320 at 7:20 a.m., at the Jay Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Bridge at 7:45 a.m., at the Jay Hill Cemetery at 8:15 a.m., and at VFW Post 3335 at 8:45 a.m.
The parade will line up at 9 a.m. in the Memco parking lot in Jay; parade will begin at 10 a.m. Along the parade route, the Regional School Unit 73 band will play the national anthem and taps at the Richardson Cemetery, again at the Grand Army of Republic Monument and again at the Fire, Police and EMS Monument. Attorney General Janet Mills is scheduled to speak at Livermore Falls Union Park.
NORWAY: A Memorial Day service will be held at Memorial Park at 9 a.m. There will be no parade this year. In case of rain, the service will be held at American Legion Post 82 across the street.
OTISFIELD: A Memorial Day remembrance will be led by Chaplain Patty Haggerty at 8 a.m. at Rayville Road and Route 121.
OXFORD: The 100th anniversary Memorial Day service of the Anderson Staples Post 112 American Legion will be dedicated in the memory of Ed Lyons, elected commander of Anderson Staples Post 112, this year. Lyons passed away on April 17. The service will be held at the Veterans Memorial Park at the Post home, 106 King St., at 9 a.m.
Following a welcome, Lyons will be recognized and there will be music presented by an Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School student. The opening prayer will be led by Oxford Congregational Church Deacon Lois Whitham. In addition to the reading of the “General Logan’s Orders General Orders #11, Washington,” Post Commander Brian O’Donnell will recite “The Gettysburg Address” followed by the recitation of “In Flanders Fields.”
PARIS: American legionnaires will meet at 10 a.m. and leave from the Oxford County Courthouse, 26 Western Ave., for the parade starting at 10:30 a.m. A service will follow shortly after the parade. In the event of rain, the service will be held at the Paris Fire Station.
RUMFORD/MEXICO: Members of Napoleon Ouellette American Legion Post 24 American Legion will observe Memorial Day with a parade and ceremonies at the Rotary Memorial Green in Rumford and then at the Veterans’ Memorial Green in Mexico. The American Legion is still looking for more participants in this parade, including veterans and military vehicles. Rides will be provided for veterans unable who do not want to walk. For information call Tricia Thurston at 369-0831.
The parade will start at 10 a.m. from the American Legion Post on Congress Street across from Rite-Aid, proceed onto Portland Street across the Memorial Bridge to the Rotary Green for a brief ceremony. From there, proceed down Rumford Avenue, onto Waldo Street, onto Lincoln Avenue, through downtown Mexico and to the Veterans Memorial Green in Mexico for a brief ceremony.
Marilla Couch of the Mexico Bicentennial Committee said they will hand out up to 1,199 American flags to parade viewers. “This is to honor our (Mexico) veterans from World War II to now,” she said. One side will have a small Mexico bicentennial sticker, with the other the name of a Mexico veteran.
After the parade, Post 24 will host an open house with a luncheon. If it rains, a brief ceremony will be held in the American Legion Hall, Rumford.
SABATTUS: Memorial Day parade, 11 a.m., beginning at the American Legion Hall on the Island Road. All local civic and youth organizations are invited to participate. Those attending should be at the hall no later than 10:30 a.m. The parade will end at the Veterans Monument on Greene Street. The RSU 4 middle school band will play the national anthem and taps, and the Oak Hill High School Voices of Color will sing selected songs. For more information, contact Ron Caron at 375-4639.
WELD: Memorial Day parade will begin at 2 p.m., stepping off from the Town Hall and walking to the library. Along the route, there will be wreaths laid at monuments, remarks and patriotic music. The parade will return to the Town Hall.
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