Easthampton
A parade will step off at 10:30 a.m. Monday, May 30, beginning on Clark Street, according to South Hadley-Easthampton Veterans Agent Michael Slater. The parade will travel onto Cottage Street and Union Street, turn right on Main Street, around Pulaski Park, continuing south on Main Street past the Emily Williston Memorial Library, left on Payson Lane then left on Park Street to the library.
Following the parade, a ceremony will be held at the war memorials in front of the library.
Hadley
Hadley’s Memorial Day parade, not held since 2019, returns at 2 p.m. Sunday and will start from the Hadley American Legion Post 271, 162 Russell St. (Route 9).
The formation for participants, including members of the Legion, public officials representatives of the Police and Fire departments and Girl and Boy scouts, begins at 1:15 p.m., with vehicle participants, such as antique cars, floats, polka bands and farm vehicles forming 15 minutes earlier.
The parade begins with a flag-raising at the Legion and concludes on the Town Common on West Street near the General Hooker Monument.
Before the parade, there will be a series of memorial events at town cemeteries. All participants and spectators are invited for refreshments at the American Legion after the event.
Hatfield
A flyover by the U.S. Air Force F-22 Demo Team will signal the beginning of Hatfield’s Memorial Day parade at 12:30 p.m. Sunday.
Starting from the American Legion Post 344 at 1 Prospect St. and running to Town Hall, the parade will also celebrate the Legion’s 100th anniversary, which was set to be commemorated in 2020 but was delayed due to the pandemic. Because of that milestone, the parade will include participants such as the Connecticut Valley Fife and Drum and Melha Shriners, as well as a number of tractors and cars.
A ceremony will take place at Smith Academy Park following the parade. Lt. Col. John Paradis, retired from the U.S. Air Force, will be the guest speaker.
Northampton
The 2022 Memorial Day Parade steps off from Trinity Row in Florence on Monday, May 30, at 10:10 a.m.
Organized by the Veterans Council of Northampton and Central Hampshire Veterans Services, it will mark the 154th consecutive Memorial Day parade in Northampton.
Central Hampshire Veterans Services director Steven Connor said it is the longest-running annual parade in the country that is held on Memorial Day. It will proceed to the Park Street Cemetery to be followed by an 11 a.m. ceremony honoring fallen service members.
Marching units include VFW Post 8006 DAV Chapter 92 and American Legion Post 288, as well as veterans from the VA Central Western Massachusetts Medical Center and residents of Soldier On. The Northampton Police and Fire departments are scheduled to march, along with many of the city’s elected leaders.
The JFKeys choral group is scheduled to open the ceremony with the national anthem; the Northampton High School band is set to play “God Bless America” and “Danny Boy.”
The parade and ceremony will be held rain or shine.
Connor said the day’s events offer a chance to teach children and other young people that “this country doesn’t come without a cost. The cost is, men and women die serving their country during war.”
Over the weekend, Connor said, more than a dozen members of the high school Key Club participated in planting flags at veterans’ graves in Spring Grove Cemetery.
“We have pictures of the parade in Florence during the 40s and even earlier, and the streets were always crowded,” Connor said. “Most of the citizens that come to see this one really have an understanding that it’s a solemn event. Yes, we have kids in the parade. We try to tell them why we have a parade.”
This year’s special guests will be the family members of Michael J. Netto, Edward S. Mazuch and Andrew C. Trushaw. The family members will receive the Massachusetts Medal of Liberty, an honor for service members who were killed in action or veterans who died as a result of their wounds.
Amherst
War Memorial Pool will be the site for Amherst’s Memorial Day event, which starts at 9 a.m. Monday.
And for the first time since 2019, the event will be preceded by a brief parade, stepping off from the Town Common and going through downtown before getting to Community Field.
Town Manager Paul Bockelman will be the master of ceremonies at the event, while local historian Robert Romer will be the guest speaker. Romer recently wrote a book profiling an Amherst College student who lost his life while fighting for the Union Army during the Civil War.
The Amherst High School Chorale is also expected to perform, and members of the American Legion and VFW, along with police and firefighters, will be among those participating.
Pelham
Residents are invited to the Memorial Day observance at the Quabbin Park Cemetery, 100 Winsor Dam Road, Belchertown Monday, May 30, at 10 a.m.
A parade and service follow at 11 a.m., honoring individuals removed from their original resting places for the building of the Quabbin Reservoir. Pelham residents should march behind the Pelham Historical Society banner.
Southampton
The Police Department will lead off the parade at 9 a.m. at William E. Norris School at 34 Pomeroy Meadow Road with all participants traveling toward College Highway and stopping at the Center Cemetery to lay flowers on the graves of veterans.
The parade will feature some locals driving some antique and unique vehicles, according to Luci Dalton, a member of the town’s Memorial Day Committee. Marchers include veterans, members of the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and Ms. Western Massachusetts Caroline Holladay, she said.
From the cemetery, the parade will continue to the center of town where wreaths will be laid on town monuments.
At the end of the parade, the Southampton Lions Club will hold a dedication for the town’s gazebo.
South Hadley
A veterans breakfast will be held on Friday, May 27 at 9 a.m. at the Senior Center, located at 45 Dayton St. The event will include a ceremony honoring local Gold Star families, music and military remembrances.
On Monday, May 30, a reading of the names ceremony will take place at 9 a.m. at the Civil War Monument, located at the intersection of College and Hadley streets, and also at the war memorial at 9:45 a.m. at Town Hall, 116 Main St.
A Memorial Day ceremony will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday at South Hadley High School, 153 Newton St.
Westhampton
A parade is set for shortly after 11 a.m. Monday, May 30. Those marching will assemble at 10:45 a.m. on South Road in front of the Veterans Memorial, with children carrying bouquets to be placed on graves of veterans.
The event will start with a flag-raising in front of the memorial led by Cub Scout Pack 209 and the singing of the Star Spangled Banner, led by Julie Holt. The parade will march to the cemetery. A ceremony will follow at the cemetery, featuring speakers Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, D-Northampton, and Suzanne Krafft, acting associate director of VA Central Western Massachusetts Health Care.
Following the ceremony, a luncheon presented by Westhampton Congregational United Church of Christ Church around noontime will be available for $6 per person.
Holyoke
The United Veterans of Holyoke and Veterans’ Services is hosting an hourlong Memorial Day tribute from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the War Memorial building.
The Bethlehem Baptist Community Church choir will be singing, and invited speakers include Mayor Josh Garcia, City Council President Todd McGee, state Rep. Patricia Duffy, D-Holyoke, and keynote speaker Col. Joseph Janik, who is the 439 Airlift Wing Commander.
Chris Sims of the War Memorial Commission will serve as master of ceremonies at the event.
Though the event begins at 10 a.m., coffee and donuts will be served beginning at 9 a.m. when the building doors open. Those looking for more information can contact United Veterans of Holyoke at 413-322-5631.
