By RUSSELL JONES
As Memorial Day signals the traditional start of summer, it’s also represents the first big parade of the season in Brandon as well as neighboring communities.
Local residents will have plenty of options this coming Monday, May 27 for the annual Memorial Day Parades, which kicks off in Brandon at at 10 a.m. Participants are encouraged to line up at 9:30 a.m. at the intersection of Park, Marble and High Streets before the parade proceeds to the bandstand for Memorial Day services.
The services include a 100-year-old tradition featuring 1st Grade students laying flowers at the War Memorial. A reception will follow at the Brandon American Legion.
Pittsford Memorial Day
The Pittsford Memorial Day Ceremony will be held at the Pittsford Fire House beginning with a parade at 12:30 p.m. The parade starts at the Village Green and will cross Route 7 to Arch Street before ending at the Fire House.
The Otter Valley Union High School Band, Neshobe Lothrop Elementary Band and the Otter Creek Academy Band will play musical selections. A rifle salute, Taps and a benediction from American Legion Post 55 chaplain Burton Reynolds will conclude the ceremony.
Proctor Memorial Day parade
Proctor’s Memorial Day parade will also start at 10 a.m., with participants lining up at South Street. The parade will make its way to the Marble Bridge where a wreath ceremony will take place, as well as the national anthem and a reading of the Gettysburg Address.
West Rutland Memorial Day parade
The annual Memorial Day celebration in West Rutland begins with a parade through town, followed by an awards ceremony and barbeque at the American Legion.
The parade begins at Noonan Lane before turning north on Clarendon Avenue, west on Main Street and onto Marble Street. Taps and a gun salute will be performed at the WWII Memorial at the Town Hall. The parade continues west on Marble Street to Barnes Street to the cemeteries where a gun salute and taps will sound again, before the parade continues east on Main Street to the West Rutland School, south on Clarendon Avenue, before ending back at Noonan Lane.
Middlebury and Vergennes
Middlebury’s annual Memorial Day parade starts early at 9 a.m. at the Porter fields and heads into town on Main Street for a brief ceremony at the War Memorial near the Town Hall Theater and Middlebury Town Green.That’s followed by Vermont’s largest Memorial Day Parade in Vergennes, which starts at 11 a.m. and is hosted by American Legion Post 14. The theme this year is “Service, Honor, Sacrifice.” The parade starts at Vergennes Union High School and winds its way through the streets of Vergennes until it finishes at the City Green around 1 p.m. Floats, tractors, classic cars, fire trucks and much more are featured.
