Locally, Memorial Day parades are planned Monday (May 27, 2024) in Pottstown and Collegeville. There’s also a choral matins service and guest speaker at Washington Memorial Chapel in Valley Forge; a remembrance of veterans buried in the historic Montgomery Cemetery in Norristown; and a parade in Hatfield.
The parade in Pottstown
POTTSTOWN PA – Pottstown’s own Memorial Day Parade and Ceremony – sponsored by the Joint Veterans Council, the Veterans Island Project at Memorial Park, and Pottstown Parks and Recreation – will step off Monday (May 27) at 10 a.m. from the Goodwill Fire Company station, 714 E. High St.
Parade units begin assembling at 9 a.m., and will begin proceeding down High Street an hour later. The events are free and open to the public.
A Memorial Day ceremony scheduled for 11 a.m. will be held following the parade at Veterans Island, accessed from the 251 Manatawny St. entrance. If the parade must be canceled due to inclement weather, organizers said, then the ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. inside the Goodwill Fire Company building.
The ceremony will include remembrances honoring fallen heroes of the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Space Force, and their service to the nation.
Earlier this month, and leading up to Memorial Day, many hands have been busy making light work of cleaning and sprucing up Veterans Island, according to the non-profit organization’s Facebook page. The included members or representatives of the St. Nicholas Patriotic Society, JDog Junk Removal and Hauling of Collegeville and franchisee Rob Dennis, The Hill School Community Service, and Pottstown Chapter 565 of the Vietnam Veterans of America.
For more information and answers to questions, send an e-mail to pottstownjointveterancouncil@gmail.com, or send a text Pam at 484-949-5828.
Graphic provided by the Veterans Island Project
Photo by Ed Zbarzhyvetsky on Deposit Photos, used under license
The parade in Collegeville
COLLEGEVILLE PA – Monday (May 27) will be filled with activity in the boroughs of Collegeville and Trappe, as the annual Collegeville-Trappe Memorial Day parade, remembrance service, and community day combine to offer area residents hours of street-side entertainment, solace and contemplation, and a variety of things to do.
Led by members of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7155, the event starts at 10 a.m. from Augustus Lutheran Church on Seventh Avenue in Trappe. It then proceeds down Main Street to First Avenue at the Trappe Shopping Center, then right on First Avenue to the entrance to Waterworks Park.
Organizers estimate the parade will be about a mile long. It’s expected to attract the participation of more than 50 groups, and many individuals, representing veterans and the active military, non-profits, service clubs, Boy and Girl Scouts, dancers, and special brigades. Popular at the parade are its floats decorated by residents and groups, marching bands, and antique vehicles.
About 500 individuals annually join the parade, and several thousand adults and children come out to watch it along the parade route and later attend the events at the park.
Interested in being part of the action? You must register in advance online as a parade participant or vendor, or send an e-mail stating your interest to manager@collegevilledevelopment.org.
A remembrance, concert, and entertainment
Following the parade, the boroughs have scheduled a remembrance observance for those who died in battle. It begins at 11 a.m. in Waterworks Park.
A community concert organized by Grayson Ehm is scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m. at the park. It will feature “old, new, and fun favorites” performed by the Community Music School’s New Horizons Band, a Perkiomen Valley School District School select choir, the district high school’s Star Spangled Symphony, and The Music Depot’s Rhythm & Soul Band.
It part of the Community Day event that also includes inflatable amusements, presentations by GrandPop Bubbles, an old-fashioned and free carnival, music, and a court of food trucks. Here’s the day’s list of food vendors:
- Mama’s Majik Kitchen,
- Schaeffer Catering,
- Troubles End Beer and Wine Tent,
- Capt’n. Chucky’s Curbside Food Truck,
- Lumbrada Food Truck,
- Smokin Bones Backyard BBQ,
- KONA Ice, and
- DonutNV of Pottstown.
The day’s activities are scheduled to end at 3 p.m.
Major organizers of the Memorial Day events are the non-profit Collegeville Economic Development Corporation, Collegeville and Trappe boroughs, VFW Post 7155 of Trappe, the Community Music School, and Verge Church. Platinum Partners responsible for “generous funding” of the parade are Basement Waterproofing Specialists Inc. and Verge Church.
Photo of an earlier Memorial Day parade from the Collegeville Economic Development Corp.
Memorial Day events elsewhere
- In Valley Forge, a choral matins remembrance for Memorial Day, a special guest speaker, and a barbecue picnic all on Monday (May 27) beginning at 11 a.m. at Washington Memorial Chapel (above), 2000 Valley Forge Rd.;
- In Hatfield PA, its Memorial Day parade on Monday (May 27) beginning at 9 a.m. from the Veterans’ Memorial at Market and Broad streets; and
- In Norristown, a service to honor soldiers and veterans interred at historic Montgomery Cemetery was held Saturday (May 25) beginning at 11 a.m. at the cemetery, 1 Hartranft Ave.
Photo provided to Travels With The Post by Washington Memorial Chapel
The Saturday parade in Harleysville
HARLEYSVILLE PA – The mile-long 2024 Memorial Day Parade in Harleysville, sponsored by the Harleysville Jaycees, started Saturday (May 25) at 11 a.m. from its assembly point at Indian Valley Middle School on Maple Avenue.
The family-friendly grand march served as a capstone to the Jaycees’ popular Country Fair Days, which operated Wednesday and Thursday (May 22-23) from 6-10 p.m.; Friday (May 24) from 6-11 p.m., and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and 6-10 p.m. at the Harleysville Community Center, 435 Park Dr.
Fireworks were scheduled for Friday at 9 p.m., and depended upon acceptable weather.
The Jaycees encouraged community participation in the parade. Groups interested in taking part were required to register Saturday by 10:30 a.m. at the registration desk, in the middle school parking lot on the south side of the building. Otherwise, openings in the parade lineup could not be guaranteed, the Jaycees advised. Also, any performances during the parade must occur while the parade is moving.
Award winners were to be announced at 1:30 p.m. at the community center fairgrounds, with trophies and prizes available for pickup at the food ticket trailer. Participants were asked to have a representative in attendance to pick up any prizes.
Washington Chapel Hosts Memorial Day Remembrance