ELLSWORTH — The city of Ellsworth’s 2021 Memorial Day parade is scheduled for Monday, May 31, at 10 a.m.
The parade will travel down Main Street to City Hall, where the traditional Memorial Day ceremony will be held. The event is being hosted by the city and Ellsworth VFW Post 109.
The following is a partial list of other Memorial Day events scheduled throughout the area on Monday:
Bar Harbor
In observance of Memorial Day on May 31, in compliance with the CDC recommendations for the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bar Harbor Garden Club is forgoing its usual on-site ceremony at the Blue Star Memorial Marker site on Route 3 in Bar Harbor.
Instead, the club will leave a weatherproof bin at the site. The public is invited to stop by any time between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. to leave a written thought in the bin reflecting a sentiment appropriate for remembering and honoring the nation’s veterans. The collection will be archived and displayed for viewing at the Veterans Day observance at the same site. Also, notes collected during the Veterans Day commemoration will be on display.
The marker is located one-third of a mile from the head of Mount Desert Island on Route 3. The hand-crafted wreath will be on display all weekend.
For more information, visit www.barharborgardenclub.org.
Blue Hill
The traditional Blue Hill Memorial Day parade on Monday, May 31, will follow the usual route and ceremony in the village of Blue Hill — from the Legion Hall (Duffy-Wescott Post 85) to the Seaside Cemetery and back.
Participants will start to muster at about 9:30 a.m. A cannon blast from the hall’s front lawn will officially start the event.
Parade participants will, and all those in attendance should, comply with the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requirements for the time period, which can be found at https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/.
Cherryfield
Cherryfield Memorial Day activities are scheduled for Monday, May 31, at the Band Stand and Legion Hall.
At 1 p.m. at the Band Stand, there will be a program with patriotic music by the Cherryfield Town Band. Carrying on a 125-year-old tradition, an eighth-grade student will recite the Gettysburg Address. In a new tradition, Scouts will pass around a number of serviceable grave flags from last year and a card reflecting the details of local deceased veterans. Each person given a flag to hold will raise it and read from the card so that the veteran is not forgotten.
The parade steps off at 2 p.m., marching down Main Street to Stewart Park, where flowers will be spread in the river to honor those lost at sea. The parade continues to the Civil War monument in Pine Grove Cemetery, where a wreath will be placed. In another new tradition this year, Legion Commander Jon Gay will lead a walk to a more remote cemetery, where flags will be placed. More information will be posted on the Maine American Legion Post No. 8 Facebook page.
For more information, call 546-7559, 460-2499 or 598-7545.
Franklin
There will be a Memorial Day parade lining up at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 31. The parade will travel from the Franklin Veterans Club to the town monument. The parade steps off at 10:30. All Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, ball teams, etc. are welcome to March along with anyone who would like to participate. There will be a trailer for those veterans who cannot March to ride on so they can participate. The Franklin Volunteer Fire Department will assist with traffic direction and control.
A Memorial Day service will be at 11 a.m., followed by a cookout at the Veterans Club. The cookout is donation only with burgers and hot dogs, etc. The ballfield will be open for pickup ball games.
Gouldsboro
The Gouldsboro Fire Department will hold a short procession and wreath-laying ceremony at 9 a.m. on Memorial Day in the vicinity of the town office in Prospect Harbor.
