Community parade set for historic return on Memorial Day

DOWNINGTOWN » The Memorial Day parade is set to return for a grand triumph at 10 a.m. May 30.

“In May we will honor those who have sacrificed their lives for our country with the return of our annual Memorial Day parade and ceremony on Pennsylvania Avenue and at the Veterans’ Memorial,” said Downingtown Mayor Phil Dague on April 1.

This year, the parade begins at Beaver Creek Elementary at 10 a.m. with the procession moving down Pennsylvania Avenue to Kerr Park, where a ceremony at the Veterans Memorial shall close out the event.

The community parade in honor of American veterans was canceled in 2020 and 2021.

“We’re getting back to normal here,” said Dague on Thursday.

“We’ve been through a lot and it’s just great that we can finally take a huge step towards getting back to normal,” the mayor said.

“Back to normal is celebrating events with friends and family without fear,” he said. “Doing what we do — living our lives.”

On Sunday, the public is invited for a memorial ceremony for veterans at Marinelli Park. This event is more solemn, Dague said, in comparison to the festive parade on Monday.

Both the memorial service at Marinelli Park on May 29 and the Memorial Day Parade on May 30 are organized by local veterans.

“It’s just nice, for the first time since 2019, that we can have everybody there together to pay respects to our fallen heroes,” the mayor said.

SUBMITTED PHOTO Councilman Phil Dague, who is now the mayor of Downingtown, addresses the crowd at Memorial Day during a previous Memorial Day tribute at Marinelli Park in the borough.

MEDIANEWS GROUP FILE PHOTO Veterans organizations lead the annual Memorial Day Parade that finished at Kerr Park in Downingtown on May 25, 2015. A service was held following the parade at the Veterans Memorial.