#InTheLoop | Memorial Day Weekend
BY QEDC It's In Queens
Countless Queens natives have made the ultimate sacrifice to the United States throughout the years. The borough honors these fallen heroes with a variety of parades, ceremonies, and even a concert during the upcoming Memorial Day Weekend. Here is a list of some activities.
Parades
Forest Hills (May 26, 11 am). Line up at American Legion Continental Post 1424 on Metropolitan Avenue near Ascan Avenue. Kick off at noon with procession to Trotting Course Lane.
Maspeth (May 26, 1 pm). Start at Walter Garlinge Memorial Park, Grand Avenue and 72nd Street. Service at Maspeth Memorial Park, 69th Street and Grand Avenue, at 2 pm. The 35th annual parade includes a partnership with the United Veterans & Fraternal Organizations of Maspeth.
College Point (May 26, 2 pm). March from 26th Avenue and College Point Boulevard to Hermon A. MacNeil Park. Marching band and U.S. Armed Forces members.
Laurelton (May 27, 9 am). Start on Merrick Boulevard and Francis Lewis Boulevard, and end at Veterans Memorial Triangle at 225th Street and North Conduit Avenue.
Rosedale (May 27, 11:15 am). Begin at 234th Street and Mayda Road, end with memorial service at Veterans & Vietnam Memorial Squares, Sunrise Highway and Francis Lewis Boulevard. Grand marshals are U.S. Army combat medic SPC Derrick Delforlimonte and 149th Street Block Association President Joyce Lawrence.
Whitestone (May 27, noon). Start at Whitestone Memorial Park, 149th Street and 15th Drive. Grand marshal is John McHugh Sr., who served in World War II as a corporal. He was part of the D-Day Invasion in the Battle of Normandy.
Ridgewood/Glendale (May 27, 11 am). Step off from Glendale Memorial Triangle at Myrtle and Cooper avenues and end at Ridgewood Veterans Triangle at Myrtle and Cypress avenues. It alternates, and next year, the parade will go from Ridgewood to Glendale.
Howard Beach (May 27, 11 am). Circuitous route begins and ends at Coleman Square, 159th Avenue and 103rd Street.
Little Neck/Douglaston (May 27, 2 pm). Walk along Northern Boulevard from Jayson Avenue to 245th Street. The feature branch is the U.S. Merchant Marine, and this 92nd annual parade celebrate the 205th annivertsary of The Star Spangled Banner and the 75th anniversary of the D-Day and Saipan invasions.
Concert, Fair, Wreath Ceremony
Celebrate, Honor, Remember (May 25, 9:30 am). The Bayside Hills Civic Association’s annual ceremony at Bell Boulevard and 53rd Avenue.
Fair (May 25, noon to 5 pm) Performances by local dance troupes and musical acts, rides, bouncy houses, arts, crafts, face-painting, BBQ. Sunnyside Gardens Park, 39-21 48th St. (Rain date is May 26.)
Concert (May 25, 2 pm). Color guard, reflections, and music dedicated to permanent residents who died in service to the United States. Flag planting at noon, Maple Grove Cemetery, 127-15 Kew Gardens Rd., Kew Gardens.
Wreath Ceremony (May 30, 7:30 pm). The Bayside Historical Society lays a wreath in honor of Captain William C. Dermody and all those who bravely fought in the Civil War at Captain Dermody Triangle, 216-12 48th Ave. (He was an outspoken abolitionist who lost his life at the Battle of Spotsylvania, Virginia, in May 1864.)
Images: Little Neck/Douglaston Memorial Day Parade