Verona will mark Memorial Day in person again this year, but it will not quite be like years past. The town will hold a ceremony in front of Town Hall to read the names of Verona residents who died in service to the country, but there will be no parade.
When state rules on outdoor gatherings were relaxed earlier this spring, town officials reached out to groups who had marched in previous parades to confirm their interest in a parade this year. Groups could participate on foot or from a vehicle. But yesterday, the town posted to Instagram that the parade would not be held “due to low participation.”
Monday’s ceremony will be held in front of Town Hall beginning at 10 a.m. If the weather is bad, the event will be moved inside at Firehouse #1, which is the firehouse attached to the Verona Community Center at 880 Bloomfield Avenue.
Verona’s memorials to those who died in World War I and World War II are on the lawn in front of town hall and can be visited at any time. Residents can also remember the fallen as they take a walk around town. In 2015, Verona installed commemorative signs honoring each of them at intersections around town. The signs had been marched into town during that year’s Memorial Day parade, and you can watch the video of that again here.
