Memorial Day may be seen as the unofficial start of summer, but it holds a much deeper meaning.
It is a day set aside each year to honor and remember the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military.
This solemn holiday became a federal observance in 1971 and is celebrated on the last Monday in May each year.
Across the United States, people observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries and memorials, attending parades, and gathering with family and friends to reflect on and honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
An American flag wraps itself around the gravestone of a veteran buried at Pine Grove Cemetery in New Bedford.
Here are SouthCoast events planned for Memorial Day 2026 on Monday, May 25:
Dartmouth
The Memorial Day Parade will kick off at 9 a.m. May 25 at the Town Landing on Gulf Road. The participants will cross the Padanaram Bridge and Causeway, where the VFW Auxiliary will conduct the ceremonial wreath placement.
After that, the procession will turn left onto Elm Street and proceed to the Elm Street Cemetery for a ceremony, with festivities concluding at the World War I memorial outside the old police station on Russells Mills Road.
Fairhaven veterans take part in Memorial Day ceremonies
Fairhaven
The annual Memorial Day Parade steps off from Fairhaven High School at 9 a.m. May 25 for the raising of the flag. Then it continues north on Main Street to Riverside Cemetery. At the cemetery, there is a ceremony at the Civil War monument with participation from military and veterans’ groups and others.
There will be a post-parade gathering at the Fairhaven Senior Center, 229 Huttleston Ave. In the event of rain, the ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. at the Senior Center.
Noah, 5, and Ava Houde, 4, sit in a wagon and watch Fall River’s Memorial Day parade on South Main Street on Sunday, May 28, 2023.
Fall River
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Fall River will host several Memorial Day events and ceremonies to honor veterans and fallen service members.
Memorial Day observances on Monday, May 25, include the Global War on Terror Monument Ceremony at 10 a.m. at North Park on Snake Hill, followed by the Memorial Day Parade and Ceremony at 1:30 p.m., starting from Kennedy Park and heading along South Main Street to Government Center.
Battleship Cove is hosting a Memorial Day ceremony starting at noon at 5 Water St. Experience a traditional military observance, honoring the fallen and Gold Star families, and a 21-gun salute.
Marion
The Memorial Day Remembrances and Procession will start at 9 a.m. May 25 in front of the Music Hall at 164 Front St. It will step off from the Music Hall northbound on Front Street, marching 0.6 miles up Front Street to the Veterans’ Memorial at Old Landing. Upon arrival at the Veterans’ Memorial, the town will pay tribute to our military’s “honored dead” who “gave the last full measure of devotion.”
The ceremony will conclude with members of the Select Board laying a wreath at the Veterans’ Memorial. The master of ceremonies for the event will be Technical Sergeant Mandy Givens of the Massachusetts Air National Guard. Residents are encouraged to attend the remembrances as well as stand along the parade route on Front Street between Cottage Street and Ryder Lane.
In the event of rain, the event will be relocated to the Multipurpose Room of Sippican Elementary School.
Middleboro
The Memorial Day Parade will kick off at 10 a.m. May 25 from the Town Hall parking lot, 10 Nickerson Ave. The route is as follows: right on Union Street, Right on Nickerson Avenue, left on South Main Street, left on Center Street to Everett Square, left on High Street, left on Oak Street, right on Center Street, right on South Main Street, concluding on the Town Hall lawn.
There will be an 11 a.m. ceremony following the parade at the Veterans’ Memorial Park.
Christopher Gomes, veteran agent for the city of New Bedford, sets American flags at the graves of veterans interred at Pine Grove Cemetery in anticipation of Memorial Day. Mr. Gomes, a veteran of the Army, lost his right leg due to an IED explosion while he was serving in Iraq in 2008.
New Bedford
New Bedford American Legion Post One will conduct a Memorial Day exercise at the Veterans’ plot at 8:15 a.m. May 25 at Rural Cemetery, 149 Dartmouth St.
The New Bedford Port Society’s annual Fishermen’s Memorial Day Service will take place at 10 a.m. May 25 at Pier 3, 51 MacArthur Drive, following a procession from Seamen’s Bethel that begins at 9:30 a.m. In the event of rain, the event will be held inside Seaman’s Bethel.
The New Bedford Memorial Day Parade, which was set to step off at 11:30 a.m., has been canceled due to rain.
A wreath-laying ceremony will be held at Clasky Common Park, at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, at noon on Monday, May 25. Family and friends of veterans who have passed away are invited to bring a flower to the service and place it at the monument in remembrance.
Rochester
The Rochester Fire Department will sponsor the annual Rochester Memorial Day Boat and Kayak Race on the Mattapoisett River on May 25.
The event starts at 8:30 a.m. at Grandma Hartley’s Reservoir, Snipatuit Road in Rochester, and finishes at the Mattapoisett Herring Weir at River Road and Route 6.
Diane Leclair installs flowers and American flags in front of her father Albert Charles Normandin’s grave at Pine Grove Cemetery in New Bedford in preparation for Memorial Day. Mr. Normandin was a Marine during WWII and fought during the battle of Iwo Jima.
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Westport
Westport’s annual parade on May 25 will start at 9:30 a.m. at Westport Town Hall, 816 Main Road, with the placing of a wreath, rifle salute, and playing of Taps at the World War I monument. The half-mile-long parade will then proceed south along Main Road, ending at Beech Grove Cemetery.
There will be a ceremony at the Veterans Monument in Beech Grove Cemetery following the parade at 10 a.m. In the event of bad weather, the parade will be canceled, and the ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. at the Town Hall Annex Gym, at 856 Main Road.
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Greater New Bedford marks Memorial Day 2026 with parades and events
