Both Maplewood and South Orange will mark Memorial Day on Monday, May 26 with events both solemn and celebratory.
Maplewood Township’s annual Memorial Day Parade will kick off at 9 a.m. — with veterans groups, the Columbia High School marching band, scout troops, recreation youth teams and service clubs stepping off from the CHS parking lot on West Parker, then winding their way up West Parker to Maplewood Avenue, through Maplewood Village via Maplewood Avenue, onto Baker Street, and finishing on Valley Street at Maplewood Town Hall.
Maplewood Memorial Day 2023
The ending ceremony, guided by elected officials, begins at 10 a.m. at the Jerry Ryan Plaza in front of Maplewood Town Hall.
In case of inclement weather, the parade may be canceled via a Maplewood Police Dept. Nixle notification (sign up here for MPD emergency alerts) – but the ceremony will be moved indoors to the Township Committee Room in Town Hall.
Following the Maplewood ceremony, the South Mountain YMCA will host the Memorial Day Annual Duck Race at 11 a.m., in Maplewood Memorial Park at Oakview Avenue. Tickets can be purchased online at www.metroymcas.org/south-mountain-ymca/duck-race/ More than 1,000 ducks will race in six separate heats with proceeds going toward the Y’s financial assistance program, which helps make Y programs like child care and summer camp affordable for families with extenuating circumstances.
South Orange Village will hold its annual Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 26 at 9 a.m. at the Duck Pond in Meadowlands Park. Per southorange.org: “Join us in remembrance and gratitude as we come together to pay tribute to the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our nation.”
South Orange Memorial Rock. The finished work. Photo by Matt Glass.
