Brooklyn Boro

Memorial Day 2017 in Brooklyn

What to do, where to go

May 26, 2017 By Mary Frost Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Eagle file photo by Georgine Benvenuto. A photographic history of the Memorial Day Parade in Brooklyn can be found at BrooklynArchive.com
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Brooklyn is always a terrific place to spend Memorial Day weekend. Whether you want to take in a parade, honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice, enjoy uplifting live music or just hang out around the barbeque, this borough has you covered.  Here are a few highlights:

Brooklyn’s 150th Kings County Memorial Day Parade kicks off at 11 a.m. Monday at Third Avenue and 78th Street. The parade is the oldest, continuous Memorial Day Parade held by a large metropolitan city. It kicks off at 11 a.m. at Third Avenue and 78th Street in Brooklyn. Grand Marshal is three-star General John Toolan, Jr., USMC (Ret.). (www.brooklynmemorialdayparade.com)

A memorial service follows the parade, commencing in John Paul Jones Park. It will include 21-gun cannon salute by the Veteran Corps of Artillery in in their War of 1812-era dress uniforms. Tenor Danny Rodriguez will sing the National Anthem. There will be a wreath laying. (www.brooklynmemorialdayparade.com)

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Greenpoint Memorial Day Parade takes place Sunday, May 28. Parade steps off at 9 a.m. from St. Stanislaus Memorial Post #1771, American Legion (519 Leonard Street bet. Driggs and Nassau Aves.), proceeding to St. Anthony’s Church for a Mass celebrating all veterans. Following mass, the parade reforms, returning to the starting point for a veteran’s memorial service including a brief ceremony, flag raising and the playing of “Taps.”

 

Black Veterans for Social Justice Memorial Day Parade takes place on Monday, May 29.  Participants gather at 10 a.m. stepping-off at noon from Restoration Plaza on Fulton St., Brooklyn. Parade will process up Marcy Ave., turning onto Willoughby Ave. to end at BVSJ headquarters at 665 Willoughby Ave. (bet. Throop & Marcus Garvey Blvd.).  

 

Green-Wood Cemetery’s free, family-friendly Memorial Day live concerts attract thousands. This year the ISO Symphonic Band at Third Street Music School Settlement and Brooklyn Community Chorus will perform patriotic favorites, hit Broadway tunes and music composed by some of Green-Wood’s most famous permanent residents. Monday from 2:30 to 5 p.m. inside the cemetery’s main gate, 25th Street at 5th Avenue, Brooklyn. (www.green-wood.com/event/annual-memorial-day-concert/)

 

Fleet Week New York runs through May 30. This awesome event is the city’s celebration of our country’s maritime services. Ship tours will be conducted in Manhattan at Piers 88 and 92, Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in Red Hook and Staten Island’s Homeport Pier from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be numerous exhibits, military band concerts and aviation demonstrations. (www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/2017/5/23/fleet-week-new-york-2017-kicks-parade-ships)

 

Picnic at Brooklyn Bridge Park:  Relax under one of the park’s umbrellas while cooking up a storm on a hibachi-style grill. Then enjoy your meal at one of the park’s salvaged wood picnic tables. (No grilling after 10 p.m. First come first served.)Picnic Peninsula at Pier 5. If you can’t find a spot, picnic tables are also next to Pier 2 and the Picnic Grove.

Saturday, May 27

Marine Day at Prospect Park: The U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) will host Marine Day at Prospect Park in Brooklyn on May 27, from 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. The event is free. This is the first time Marine Day will be held outside of Manhattan.

 

Swimming season kicks off: Beaches re-open to swimming on May 27. Lifeguards are on duty from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. This summer, NYC Parks is installing sunscreen dispensers to dispense 1,000 liters of free sunscreen at beaches. In Brooklyn, dispensers will be at Manhattan Beach, Brighton Beach and six locations at Coney Island Beach. For a list of open beaches and parks visit www.nycgovparks.org/facilities/beaches

 

Prospect Park Nature and History Bike Tour rolls out on Saturday, May 27 from 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m. at Prospect Park. Details and registration at www.nycgovparks.org/events/2017/05/27/rangers-choice-prospect-park-nature-and-history-bike-tour

 

Sunday, May 28

Take a Waterfront Walk on Sunday, May 28 from 11 a.m.–12 p.m. at Pier 1, Brooklyn Bridge Park. Learn about the park’s design, history, and ecology and enjoy the balmy weather. Register at www.nycgovparks.org/events/2017/05/28/waterfront-walks

 

Bushwick’s House of Yes Summer of Love at the Park Party: This nighttime venue will be going outside in broad daylight on Monday May 29, noon to 9 p.m. Music, circus spectacles, shaded lounges, day drinking, sculptures and play spaces. RSVP on Eventbrite (http://bit.ly/2r8JWOj); tickets are free.

 


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