City to host Memorial Day parade Monday, May 28

 

Sarasota, FL: The City of Sarasota, in conjunction with the Sarasota Patriotic Observance Committee, will host the annual Memorial Day parade at 10 a.m. Monday, May 28, in downtown Sarasota.   

 

The parade will start at Main Street and Osprey Avenue and conclude at Chaplain J.D. Hamel Park, located at Main Street and Gulfstream Avenue, where a ceremony will be held at approximately 11 a.m.  The public is encouraged to attend.

 

The theme for the 2018 ceremony, which will honor Vietnam veterans, is “All Gave Some. Some Gave All.” The keynote speaker will be retired U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Charles L. Thomas, who served for 28 years before teaching JROTC at Sarasota Military Academy.

 

The parade will include 130 band members from Blair High School in Omaha, Neb. Sarasota Military Academy students will represent area high schools in the parade.

 

Other participants will include the color guards from the Sarasota Police Department, Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office and Sarasota County Fire Department; Pearl Harbor survivor Capt. Robert O’Neil; Boy Scouts of America; Girl Scouts of the USA; and many other veterans groups, community organizations and local dignitaries.

 

For more information, please contact Sarasota County Veterans Services:  941-861-2899.