WESTFIELD – Mayor Brian P. Sullivan announced that the route for the 2016 Memorial Day Parade through the city has changed.
Due to the construction on North Elm Street the 2016 parade will run from Stanley Park’s Kensington Ave. entrance and will culminate at Parker Memorial Park on West Silver St. directly across from South Middle School. The route is approximately 2 miles.
Any groups marching in the Memorial Day Parade must begin assembling at 9:00 AM at Stanley Park as the parade will begin promptly at 10am.
Master of Ceremonies
for Westfield’s 2016 Memorial Day Parade, Senior Vice Commander
Cindy T. Lacoste American Legion Post 124. (Photo by Don Wielgus)
The assembly area will be near Stanley Park Drive off of Kensington Ave. The area is best accessed by entering Stanley Park through either Gate 3 or Gate 4 on Kensington Ave.
Authorized Parade Vehicles are asked to enter at Gate 4 for pre-parade staging.
The parade route will be as follows: beginning at Stanley Park Drive, the marchers will march out of Gate 3 onto Kensington Ave, turn left towards Western Ave, and then right onto Western Ave. The parade will continue down Western Ave onto West Silver St, terminating at Parker Memorial Park, which is across from Westfield South Middle School. Memorial Day Ceremonies will take place in Parker Memorial Park.
Following the Parker Park Ceremonies, American Legion Post 124 will march from Parker Memorial Park towards East Silver St, turning Left onto Broad St toward the post home on Broad St, where additional ceremonies will be held.
In past years the parade started at what is known as the Mestek field on the southwest corner of North Elm and Notre Dame streets and went south through the city via Elm and Broad Streets and turned onto West Silver to Parker Memorial Park.
The Memorial Day Parade Committee of the Westfield Veterans Council invites all previous participants, and other parties interested in participating in this year’s parade to contact the committee by e-mail at [email protected]. The committee will no longer mail out paper invitations, and will use the e-mail registration as the primary means of registering for parade participation. As in the past, please remember that the parade is a means of recognizing the sacrifices of those who gave their lives in defense of our country, and as such, is intended as a solemn event to be so conducted by the parade participants. No floats or commercial vehicles will participate in the parade. No dancing, acrobatics, or other celebratory act ivies are allowed.
