Queens communities will commemorate Memorial Day in grand style with a host of parades and memorial vigils scheduled for this weekend, including America’s largest Memorial Day parade in Little Neck/Douglaston. All are invited to participate in the various events honoring those who served in defense of the country through the years. Among the events are the following:
College Point
Service members will participate in the annual parade hosted by the Citizens of College Point. The event, which honors those who served in battle, is free and open to the public. The memorial will be located at College Point Boulevard and MacNeil Park in Queens on Sunday, May 29, at 12:30 p.m.
Forest Hills
The Forest Hills Memorial Day Parade, hosted by Forest Hills Kiwanis Club and Continental Post 1424, will take place on Sunday, May 29. The parade starts at noon at Metropolitan and Ascan Avenues and continues west to Remsen Memorial Park at Trotting Course Lane. The grand marshals for this year’s parade will be Det. Gigi Redzematovic and Lt. Col. Thomas Sullivan.
Woodside/Sunnyside
There will be a special Mass at St. Sebastian’s at 10 a.m. honoring all those who made the supreme sacrifice for our nation. After Mass there will be a short ceremony at the Woodside Vietnam Monument followed by the parade from 10 a.m. to noon. This year’s grand marshal is Lt. Michael Keilty, a 2000 graduate from West Point who served two tours of combat duty in the Middle East.
Little Neck/Douglaston
America’s largest Memorial Day parade will once again take place in Little Neck and Douglaston this Monday afternoon. The Little Neck-Douglaston Memorial Day Parade steps off at 2 p.m. from the corner of Jayson Avenue and Northern Boulevard in Little Neck. Marching bands, veterans groups, soldiers, community leaders and others will proceed west along Northern Boulevard into Queens to the Divine Wisdom Academy schoolyard in Douglaston.
This year’s parade celebrates the centennial of the ROTC (Reserve Officers Training Corps) program and honors Queens veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.
Retired Lieutenant General Richard P. Mills of the Marine Corps will serve as the grand marshal. The Little Neck-Douglaston Memorial Day Parade Committee will also honor Queens Borough President Melinda Katz as Woman of the Year; FDNY Deputy Commissioner Robert F. Sweeny as Man of the Year; and civic leader Mohsen Zandieh will receive the committee’s Community Service Award.
