KidsOutAndAbout's List of Memorial Day Parades in and near Fairfield County, CT

2014 List of Memorial Day Parades in Fairfield County

Anyone can have a parade. Only Americans can have a parade to celebrate the greatest political achievements in history: establishing and repeatedly defending a country founded on the principle of individual liberty. Memorial Day, which was originally called Decoration Day because it was a day on which the graves of fallen soldiers were decorated, was established in the years after the Civil War to honor those who died in that war. Today, it is a day of remembrance of all who have died in this country's service.

Bravery. Honor. In President Lincoln's famous words, giving the last full measure of devotion to the defense of freedom. These are difficult ideas to explain to children, but it is our responsibility as parents to do it.

Start by bringing your kids to the Memorial Day Parade in your town. During the parade, demonstrate for them the solemnity and gratitude due to the veterans who march past. Take off your hats as they go by. Explain to your kids why we show respect for the flag. With them, cheer for the bands and salute the men and women in our police and fire departments. Think about those currently serving our country in the military around the world, and, perhaps, reflect with your children about the gratitude we owe their courage. If you know parents with a child in the military, take a few minutes to find a way to convey your thanks.

Click here for a brief history of Memorial Day in the U.S., courtesy of the Waterloo, NY web site. Below the following list of dates and times for this year, we have compiled some other good links for those of you ambitious enough to explore further the meaning of Memorial Day.

Also note: If you are marching in a parade, line-up is usually about 1/2 hour before the start of the parade.

• Redding will commemorate Memorial Day with a parade starting from the Redding Elementary School and ending at 1 PM at the Memorial Green on Cross Highway. The parade will feature fire engines, a fife and drum corps, and local children's groups. A ceremony honoring our nation's fallen will take place at the end of the parade.  

• The Sherman Memorial Day Parade begins at 1 PM. Starting at Spring Lake Road (Judd's Corner) the parade moves down Route 39 to end at Veteran's Field. A ceremony will be held at the Gazebo at Veteran's Field afterward.

• Milford's Memorial Day Parade steps off at 2 PM and will start at Daniel Wasson Field to the Milford Green. The Milford Volunteers Ancient Fife and Drum Corps will be marching. The City Memorial Day Wreath Laying Ceremony will be held in front of City Hall at 9:45am. All are invited to attend this short but moving ceremony.

• Monroe will have their parade at 2:00 PM beginning at Elm Street and Route 111 and proceed to the New War Memorial on the Town Green where ceremonies will be conducted. In case of rain the ceremonies will be held in the Monroe Town Hall Council Chambers at 2:00 PM.

• Stamford's parade kicks off at noon, at the corner of Summer St and Hoyt St. 

• The parade at Rowayton starts at 12 PM. Celebrate our town spirit at the annual Memorial Day Parade! Pick your favorite spot along Rowayton Avenue or McKinley Street and cheer for our veterans, Brien McMahon and Roton School marching bands, our commissioners, volunteer firefighters, Little Leaguers, Scouts and all the many other enthusiastic marchers (even four-footed ones!). After the parade, join fellow residents at Veteran’s Cannon to honor those who died in their service to our country. Then, head on over to the Fire House for hot dogs and soda, hosted by our local firefighters and their families. Be sure to check out the Rowayton Arts Center’s Annual Art Show will also be in full swing at Pinkney Park. Be sure to stop by and sample some of the famous homemade strawberry shortcake, made by Rowayton Methodist parishioners. This event is truly New England and Rowayton at its finest. It is a perfect kick-off to summer.

• Greenwich's Glenville Ninth District Veterans Association will hold its Memorial Day parade Sunday at 5 p.m. It begins at Walker Court, continues left onto Glenville Street, right onto Glenville Road and then right onto Pemberwick Road. A ceremony will be held at a veterans monument next to the Glenville fire station. 

• The Memorial Day Parade in Brookfield will begin at the high school at 2 PM. The Town Clerk’s Officeis inviting Brookfield’s dog owners to join in the annual Memorial Day Parade, scheduled for Sunday, May 26 to the Museum and Historical Society.Residents who would like to walk in the parade should contact the Town Clerk at 203-775-7313 by May 22. After Brookfield's parade, enjoy the free Brookfield Historical Museum's Annual Strawberry Festivalfrom noon to 3 pm featuring a live band. Drinks and strawberry shortcake for sale will raise funds for the museum.

• The Ansonia parade starts at 2 pm from Nolan Field. A ceremony will be held in front of City Hall to honor all veterans.The parade features five divisions, each led by an Ansonia Fire Company. There will be many musical units including the Ansonia High School Band, the Connecticut Hurricanes Corps, New Haven Gaelic Pipe Band, Washington Park Fife and Drum Corps, and Naugatuck High School Band.

• The Darien Memorial Day Parade begins at 10:00am at the Goodwives Shopping Center on Old Kings Highway, and end at the newly-landscaped Soldier's Monument in the Connecticut Veterans Cemetery. The parade will include the Milford Volunteers Ancient Fife and Drum Corps along with local children's groups. A ceremony at Veteran's Cemetary will immediately follow the parade.

• New Canaan will have its Memorial Day Parade at 9:30 AM on Monday morning. It starts at St. Mark's Church on Oenoke Ridge, marches on Main Street to Lakeview Cemetery where a memorial ceremony will be held.

• Greenwich's Sound Beach Volunteer Fire Department Memorial Day Parade starts at Sound Beach Ave at 10:00am and finishes at Binney Park.

• The Memorial Day Parade in Ridgefield starts at 11:30. The parade will march down Main St. to Ballard Park. 

• Southbury will have its Memorial Day Parade at 11:00 from Pomperaug Office Park on Main Street marching west to the Parks and Rec building for a ceremony. After the parade is a family celebration at Ballantine Park including bands, food, face painting and entertainment and games .

• The Annual Memorial Day Parade in Wilton begins at 10:00am on River Road and travels through the business district and up Ridgefield Road to Hillside Cemetery for a ceremony honoring those who gave their lives serving our country.The Wilton High School band, the Wilton Police Department, and the Wilton Fire Department will march. The parade will also feature a number of army vehicles.

• Danbury's annual Memorial Day Parade steps off at the intersection of Rose Street and Main Street at 9:30 am and ends at Rogers Park. 

• Roxbury is having its Memorial Day Parade at 10 AM in front of Roxbury Congregational Church, 24 Church St., proceeding to the town green for a ceremony and then continuing along Route 67 to the cemetery next to Town Hall.

• The town of Oxford will start its parade at the Pleasant Valley Shopping Center at 11 AM marching along Route 67 to the Oxford Town Hall. 

• The town of Weston parade will start at 10:45 AM in front of the high school with a flyover. The procession continues down School Rd. to Weston Rd. and ends at the Town Hall. A ceremony follows at the Town Hall Gazebo and will include raising the flag, playing of taps, and the Boy Scouts will place a wreath.

• Trumbull's  The parade begins at 10 am.

• The Memorial Day Parade in Westport-the parade will begin on Riverside Avenue at 9 a.m.  The Memorial Services will be on Veterans Green immediately following the Parade. 

• Norwalk will start in Veterans Memorial Park on Seaview Avenue. Parade marshals will step off promptly at 10 a.m. The parade route is Fort Point Street, Van Zant Street then North on East Avenue from the East Norwalk Cemetary to the dispersal at the Town Green. A host of civic organizations, bands, scout troops, youthful athletic teams, and community groups will march. Prizes will be awarded for the best parade floats and presentations will be made at a reception at the American Legion immediately following the parade.

• The Fairfield Memorial Day parade begins at 10 AM. The line of march will be East from South Pine Creek Road along Post Road to the Library; south along Old Post Road; East along Old Post Road passing the Town Green and continuing beyond South Benson Rd. A picnic at the Fairfield Historical Society from 12 PM to 4 PM takes place after the parade. This year the parade will feature vintage automobiles from the Connecticut Seaport Car Club.

• The Derby and Shelton parade begins at 9 AM on Elizabeth Street in Derby near St. Mary's Church and crosses over the bridge into Shelton where it continues right onto Howe Ave, then left onto White St. and . It will feature antique fire trucks and the Mattatuck Drum Band.

• Stratford memorial services begin on Academy Hill. The parade heads north on Main Street to the reviewing stand at Main Street and Hurd Avenue, ending at Paradise Green.

If you know of other Memorial Day Celebrations in the Fairfield County area, please email me and I will add them to this list.

Check out some of the stories and thoughts of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, who is credited with holding the Union position at Little Round Top at Gettysburg, and was an eloquent professor of rhetoric from Maine besides.

Or read about Robert G. Shaw, who was the 26-year-old commander of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, the first black regiment of the Civil War. Matthew Broderick starred as Colonel Shaw in the 1989 film about the regiment, Glory, which also featured Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman.

You could also discuss with them the patriot Nathan Hale, who was the first American captured and executed for spying on the British during the Revolutionary war. He is the originator of the often-repeated "I only regret I have but one life to lose for my country."

For a bit more recent history, you might show your children the famous picture of Strank, Block, Sousley, and their comrades taken just before these three died on Iwo Jima, and talk about what it means.

Or, you might stick with the incomparable words of Lincoln on the topic, so that your children understand that indeed, the heroes we honor on Memorial day have done much more than their share, and that it is "for us the living,...to be dedicated....to the great work which they who fought ...have thus far so nobly advanced."