Memorial Day is almost here! It’s a federal holiday dedicated to remembering the sacrifice of our military service members who died in the line of duty, and remembering them. Across the country, it’s an opportunity to celebrate our country and the communities we live in. It’s also typically seen as the unofficial beginning of summer, and either way, that means lots of great events for families!
Whether you’re looking for something to honor our fallen, or celebrate summer, we’ve got you covered with tons of fun things to do over Memorial Day weekend in South Central PA!
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Memorial Day Events in Cumberland County
- Camp Hill Memorial Day Parade: This annual event is being planned for May 29th and the parade will start at 9:30 AM, Cemetery Ceremony will follow at 11 AM and festivities in Willow Park will start after the parade. Anyone interested in being in the parade or part of the festivities in Willow Park please contact the Recreation office at (717) 737-4548 by May 2nd. Look for the program for this event on our web page www.camphillborough.com in early May.
Thank you to Orrstown Bank for sponsoring our Bouncy House during the festivities in Willow Park!
- Carlisle Memorial Day Ceremony: The U.S. Army War College (USAWC) will host a solemn commemoration ceremony for Memorial Day at the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center (USAHEC). The ceremony will include a wreath laying, a 21-gun salute courtesy of the Pennsylvania Army National guard, and a flyover from two vintage Korean War era aircraft. Retired Army Lieutenant General and Vietnam Veteran Robert Noonan will deliver remarks on the significance and history of Memorial Day observances. The Carlisle Town Band will provide an educational and appropriate musical selection for the event.
Memorial Day observances are a solemn tradition dating back to the post-Civil War era, with the first recorded national observance occurring in 1868. Offering citizens and service members alike a way to honor the sacrifice of all who have died in service to the nation, Memorial Day observances and ceremonies have become a fundamental American tradition.
Join us at 11:20am on Monday, May 29th, 2023 at 950 Soldiers Drive, Carlisle, PA 17013.
- Boiling Springs Memorial Day Parade & Ceremony: Please join Boiling Springs VFW Post 8851 for the Annual Memorial Day Parade through downtown Boiling Springs. The parade starts at 1:00 PM at the Forge Education Center Parking Lot. A short memorial service to honor the men and women of our Armed Services for their sacrifices to our nation will be held at the flag pole adjacent to the clock tower. There is a free picnic in the parking lot of the Boiling Springs Tavern immediately following the memorial service.
- Shippensburg Memorial Day Parade: The Shippensburg Veterans Council will hold the Memorial Day Parade on Monday, May 29, 2023, at 2 PM. In addition, the Veterans Council will also hold the Locust Grove Cemetery Memorial Service at 10 AM, Spring Hill Cemetery Service at 11 AM, and Branch Creek Bridge Navy/Marine Corp Service at 1:15 PM. If any person or group would like to participate in the parade or attend the ceremonies that day, contact Jackie Clever at 717-530-0314.
- Carlisle Memorial Day Ceremony, Flyover, and Artillery Salute: The U.S. Army War College (USAWC) will host a solemn commemoration ceremony for Memorial Day at the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center (USAHEC). The ceremony will include a wreath laying, a 21-gun salute courtesy of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, and a flyover from three vintage Korean War-era aircraft.
Retired Army Lieutenant General and Vietnam Veteran Robert Noonan will deliver remarks on the significance and history of Memorial Day observances. The Carlisle Town Band will provide an educational and appropriate musical selection for the event.
Memorial Day observances are a solemn tradition dating back to the post-Civil War era, with the first recorded national observance occurring in 1868. Offering citizens and service members alike a way to honor the sacrifice of all who have died in service to the nation, Memorial Day observances and ceremonies have become a fundamental American tradition.
Memorial Day Events in Dauphin County
- Memorial Day at SpringGate: We will be open for a lowkey day from 12-7PM on Memorial Day, honoring this special Holiday.
- Hummelstown Memorial Day Parade: Memorial Day Parade starts at 10AM with the Memorial Day Service starting at 11AM at the Hummelstown Cemetery. Please stop by the square to make a card to send to the troops at 9:30AM!
- Memorial Day Flag Placement: Volunteers welcome to join our #legionfamily for our Annual Memorial Day Flag Placement. We will meet at Steelton American Legion at 9am for briefing and local cemetery assignment.
- Memorial Day at Midland Cemetery: The Midland Cemetery, located at 206 Kelker Street in Swatara Township has recently been added onto the National Register of Historic Places. This historic cemetery is the final resting place of slaves that once inhabited our area, along with United States Colored Troops, Buffalo Soldiers, Tuskegee Airman and many other notable individuals from our area.
Each year the Friends of Midland Cemetery host a Memorial Day event to honor those who are buried on these hallowed grounds. Swatara Township Police have partnered with the Cemetery for many years and look forward to continuing this relationship.
This year Memorial Day will be celebrated at Midland Cemetery on Saturday, May 27, 2023, at 1:00 PM. Please come out and join members of our community as we honor the veteran’s interred at the Midland Cemetery and other cemeteries across our Country.
Memorial Day Events in Lancaster County
- Memorial Day Weekend Celebration: Kick off the holiday weekend with a Memorial Day Celebration! Enjoy local food trucks, live music, FREE face painting, games, meet and greet with our Super Hero friends, FREE kids creation station and balloon twists!
- Ephrata Memorial Day 5K: All proceeds go to Ephrata Rec Center Youth Programs.
- Marietta Memorial Day Parade: Memorial Day Parade for Marietta is on Memorial Day May 29th – 11:00 AM. Contact: Marietta Legion 717-426-2087.
- Memorial Day Flea Market: The Hempfield Community Memorial Day Flea Market is just around the corner and it’s sure to be an event to remember. Featuring over 100 vendors, the flea market will be held at Amos Herr Park with vendors from all over. You’ll find everything from antiques to handmade crafts, vintage clothing, and more. Food trucks will also be onsite for shoppers to enjoy.
- Lancaster Symphony Orchestra In the Park: The FREE outdoor LSO Memorial Day Concert at Lititz Springs Park will take place on Saturday, May 27th, beginning at 7:00 PM. Bring your lawn chairs, friends, and family to enjoy the music and picturesque downtown Lititz amidst the sprawling canopy of maple trees and trickling springs. Children of all ages can create a free percussion instrument out of recycled and craft materials in the pavilion next to the bandstand, while supplies last.
Memorial Day Events in Lebanon County
- Annville Memorial Day Parade: Annville’s Memorial Day Parade is a three-hour procession in honor of all those who have fallen in service to our country. The parade concludes with a moving ceremony in remembrance of the sacrifices so many have made. The volunteer Annville Community Activities Committee sponsors this event. Click the flag for details.
- Palmyra Memorial Day Parade: The Thomas Holcomb Post 304 will be marching in their Memorial Day Parade on Monday May 29th. This parade is to honor those that gave the ultimate sacrifice, the loss of their lives so that we may be Free. The parade will start on Main St. near the Lake and continue to Hillside Cemetery for services there.
9:15 am there will be a ceremony at Charles Deuel Park on Wilson St. then to the Catholic Cemetery at 9:30 for a brief service and gun salute.
Reminder to those attending the Parade: Please stand as the parade goes by, remove your hats and hold your hand over your heart. These are all signs of honoring those that lost their lives.
- Jonestown Memorial Day Parade & Ceremony: Parade through Jonestown followed by a memorial service at Zion’s Lutheran Cemetery.
- Lebanon Memorial Day Parade: The parade is organized and sponsored by the Lebanon Veterans Advisory Council. Parade Route: Begin at Eighth and Cumberland Streets; east on Cumberland Street to Fourth Street; north on Fourth Street to Lehman Street; west on Lehman Street to Eighth Street. A ceremony will be held in Monument Park immediately following the parade. For more information, please email the parade committee at [email protected].
- Memorial Day Program: The Memorial Day Program is held on the Sunday immediately before Memorial Day at 2 p.m. at the Pennsylvania Veterans Memorial in the National Cemetery. Traditionally, the theme of the Memorial Service is to honor the lives of the military who died in battle during hostile actions or later as a result injuries suffered during those hostilities. This program is open to the public and there is no charge for parking, shuttle bus service, admission or any hand-outs given to the patrons. A guest speaker from the co-hosting VSO (Veterans Service Organization) offers their oratory, a band will play a few selections of music or a choir will perform several renditions of appropriate songs and wreaths are symbolically placed memorializing those who died in the service of their country.
A Massing of the Colors may also be presented. This Massing of Colors is a parade of US flags and organizational flags that are marched through the PA Veterans Memorial arena before and after the ceremony. Organizations include any VSO, fraternal organizations and Scouting and other youth groups that participate in patriotic events. Groups that are interested in being a part of the Massing of Colors are to contact the Memorial Council for more information.
Memorial Day Events in York County
- Dillsburg Memorial Day Parade: Parade leaves VFW parking lot at 1100 and has flag raising ceremony at Dillsburg Fire station in route to Dillsburg Cemetary. There will be a Memorial Day ceremony consisting of guest speakers and songs played by the Northern High school band at the conclusion of the parade at Dillsburg Cemetery.
- Annual Memorial Day Parade: The Annual Memorial Parade parade will begin at 8:30 AM on Monday May 29, 2023, sponsored by the Allied Veterans Council of Hanover.
The parade will form at 7:30 AM on portions of Carlisle Street, between Chestnut Street and Library Place, continuing along Carlisle Street (route 94) through Center Square and on Baltimore Street to Mount Olivet Cemetery where a service will be held at the platform near The Soldier’s Monument.
To participate in the parade or for more information please contact Brian J. Couse, Parade Marshal at (240) 344-4971.
- York Gold Star Memorial Day 5K: EVERY MEMORIAL DAY! WE WILL HAVE A COMPETITIVE TIMED RACE THIS YEAR AT 7:30 AM ON MEMORIAL DAY, OR IF YOU’D RATHER REMAIN SOCIALLY DISTANT, WE INVITE YOU TO BE A VIRTUAL PARTICIPANT. EITHER WAY, PLEASE SIGN UP, ORDER A T-SHIRT (AND SUPPORT THE GOLD STAR FAMILY GARDEN!)
T-SHIRTS FOR THE FIRST 150 REGISTERED.
ON MEMORIAL DAY, WE WILL SET UP OUR TABLE, ACCEPT RACE DAY ENTRIES, AND DISTRIBUTE T-SHIRTS FROM 6:30 AM – 7:30 AM. THE ACTUAL TIMED RUNNING EVENT WILL BEGIN AT 7:30 AM.
3 Events to pick from! A 5K running race, or a non-competitive 5K walk, or 9 mile “Tour the Memorials” event where you can run, ride your bicycle, or walk and pass by every war memorial in York City!
START TIME: 5K race and the 9 mile “Tour the Memorials” ride/run/walk.starts at 7:30 AM.
Registration and packet pick-up open FROM 6:30 AM TO 7:30 AM.
