2023 Memorial Day events in the A-K Valley

All events are on May 29 unless otherwise noted.

Apollo

Apollo Volunteer Fire Department No. 2 will sponsor a program at 9 a.m. in Apollo Plaza.

Brackenridge

The American Legion will have a ceremony at noon in Brackenridge Park, First Avenue. Guests will include the Highlands High School Marching Band, Brackenridge Mayor Lindsay Fraser and veterans from Natrona Heights Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Natrona and Brackenridge American Legion posts. Names of local veterans who passed away this year will be read, and Star parents will be recognized. There will be a 21-gun salute, the band will play Taps and a memorial wreath placed in the Allegheny River. A C-17 Globemaster III military flyover will be at approximately 12:45 p.m. by the 911st Airlift Wing stationed at Pittsburgh Air Reserve Station. Bring a lawn chair or blanket to sit on. Anyone who posts photographs or video of the flyover is encouraged to use the hashtag #AFFlyover when they post to social media.

Indiana Township

Disabled American Veterans, American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars will host ceremonies at 9:30 a.m. at Rural Ridge Volunteer Fire Hall, 135 Little Deer Creek Road, and at 11 a.m. at the township Veterans Memorial at town hall, 3710 Saxonburg Blvd., Dorseyville.

Leechburg

The parade will begin at 10 a.m. at the bottom of First Street, proceed to Main to Third to Market Street back to the borough building for a ceremony and speakers. The Marconi Lodge will serve free spaghetti dinners to all veterans and their guest at the lodge after the service at St. Catherine Cemetery, Gilpin.

Lower Burrell

Leechburg Road will be closed at 10:30 a.m. between Wildlife Lodge Road and Schreiber Street. The parade will begin at 11 a.m. at city hall and proceed down Leechburg Road to the American Legion on Wildlife Lodge Road.

New Kensington-Arnold

The Joint Veterans Committee will have programs at 9:30 a.m. at Roosevelt Park, Arnold, and at 10 a.m. at the Gold Star Mothers Monument in New Kensington. The Rev. Darryl Johnson will be the speaker.

Oakmont-Verona

The parade will line up at 9 a.m. on East Railroad Avenue in Verona and step off at 9:30 a.m. Frank Bonaroti is the parade marshal. The parade will proceed on Allegheny River Boulevard. across the Roger F. Duffy Viaduct to Pennsylvania Avenue then to Verona Cemetery in Oakmont. The ceremony at the cemetery will feature speaker 2002 Riverview High School graduate Maj. Dimitri J. Facaros, who is assigned as the group judge advocate for 3rd Special Forces Group, Fort Bragg, N.C.

Saxonburg

The parade will begin at 10:30 a.m. at the municipal building and process on Main Street to Roebling Park where there will be a ceremony.

Springdale

There will be services at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Cheswick Memorial and at 2 p.m. at Deer Creek Cemetery with West Deer American Legion. A church service will be at 7 p.m. at Valley Gospel Church in the Orville section of Springdale Township. Events Monday include: 8 a.m. at the Allegheny River Marina; 8:30 a.m. at St. Mark Lutheran Cemetery; 9 a.m. at the Harwick Veterans Memorial; 9:30 a.m. at the Orville Memorial on Butler Road; and 10 a.m. at Springdale Cemetery on School Street. Participants will parade at 11 a.m. down Pittsburgh Street from the Veterans Association to the Porter Street memorial for an 11 a.m. service.

Vandergrift/Parks/Allegheny Township/East Vandergrift

Veterans will gather at 7:30 a.m. at the Veterans of Foreign Wars and leave for services at local memorials at 7:45 a.m. Services planned in order include: North Vandergrift memorial, Vandergrift Bridge, Century 21 in Towne Center, the Kiski Area High School driveway circle, Vandergrift Cemetery, St. Gertrude Cemetery and East Vandergrift Memorial. Vans will be available from the Veterans of Foreign Wars to each site. Breakfast will be served to ceremony participants before the parade at the VFW. The parade will stage at 10 a.m. at Kiski Area East Primary School on Franklin Avenue, step off at 10:30 a.m. and proceed down Franklin Avenue to Grant Avenue to the Casino Theatre where there will be a program at 11 a.m. Groups wishing to participate should contact Mike Reilly at mjreilly138@gmail.com.

West Deer, East Deer and Indiana Township

West Deer American Legion and Auxiliary and Sons of the American Legion will hold services at 8:30 a.m. at the Bairdford World War II Memorial, 9 a.m. at the West Deer Municipal Building, 9:30 a.m. at Rural Ridge Volunteer Fire Dept., 10:15 a.m. at the East Deer Memorial, 11 a.m. at the Indiana Township Memorial, 11:45 a.m. at Lakewood Memorial Gardens and 12:30 p.m. at the West Deer American Legion. Lunch will be served after the 12:30 p.m. ceremony at the American Legion by the post auxiliary. The Jimmy Switalski Military Scholarship Award and the American Legion James “Mustard” Yaconis Scholarship awards will be presented during lunch. Everyone welcome.

Winfield

A community service will be at 11 a.m. Sunday at Sower’s Chapel, 100 Iron Bridge Road. Special honoree will be the late Cpl. Boyd E. Baker who served in the Army, Army Reserves and Army Military Police and worked his family farm in South Buffalo for over 64 years.