Memorial Day Events Planned This Weekend

Memorial Day, a holiday to commemorate those who died in military service to the country, will be celebrated locally Saturday, May 26, Sunday, May 27, and Monday, May 28. The traditional holiday is the last Monday in May.

St. Ignace

Memorial Day will be observed for residents of the Mackinac Straits Hospital Long Term Care facility Saturday, May 26, at 1:30 p.m. by the local Disabled American Veterans (DAV) chapter. The public is welcome. Flags will be placed at veterans graves in cemeteries Saturday.

On Monday, May 28, a public ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. at the Mackinac County Courthouse. Billie Clark of the DAV and Mike Lehto, commander of the American Legion, will be the speakers. Student Abigail Chambers will sing during the ceremony. Each branch of the service will be represented.

Coffee and refreshments at the VFW Hall will follow the ceremony.

Les Cheneaux

The Law-White Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7958 and Ladies Auxiliary of Clark Township will be joined by the Pickford American Legion Post 323 to lead traditional Memorial Day services at Cedar Cemetery on Four-Mile Block Road in Cedarville Monday, May 28, at 11 a.m. A remembrance wreath, flags, and memorial flowers will be placed at the Veterans Memorial in the center of the cemetery.

Cedarville High School Band will perform during the service, and will play military service songs, patriotic music, and "Taps."

Engadine

In observance of Memorial Day Monday, May 28, there will be a breakfast at the Engadine Town Hall from 8 a.m. to noon. A Memorial Day service will be performed by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the American Legion at Mill Pond Park at 1:30 p.m.

Mackinaw City

The Annual Mackinaw Memorial Bridge Race will be Saturday, May 26, with bus transportation at 5:15 a.m. and the race starting at 6 a.m. on the Mackinac Bridge. The Mackinaw City Memorial Day Parade will be Saturday at 1 p.m. with a "Celebrate the Bridge's 50 Years" theme. There will be fireworks at dusk Sunday, May 28.

From Saturday, May 26, to Monday, May 28, Mackinac State Historic Parks will host a series of free performances recreating the 1763 Native American capture of Fort Michilimackinac. The performances will take place on the grounds outside Colonial Michilimackinac, a reconstructed fort and fur trading village at the southern end of the Mackinac Bridge. This Fort Michilimackinac Pageant brings together more than 400 historical interpreters from around Michigan to reenact a surprise attack on the fort. Performances are scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Saturday, May 26, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, May 27, and Monday, May 28.

Mackinac Island

The public is invited to watch as Fort Mackinac soldiers conduct a Memorial Day tribute to soldiers who once served at the Mackinac Island fortress Monday, May 28. Historical interpreters will be dressed in the uniform of the U.S. Army 23rd Regiment of Infantry that served at Fort Mackinac in the 1800s. At 8:30 a.m., they will march from the north sally port entrance of the fort along Garrison Road to the Post Cemetery, where they will perform a short ceremony and salute.

The American Legion Post will perform a ceremony at the Veterans Memorial at 11:30 a.m. Monday. The guest speaker will be Bill Porter. A wreath of remembrance will be laid at the site.

Pickford

There will be two Memorial Day services in Pickford. A wreath laying ceremony will take place Sunday, May 27, at the flag pole at Pickford Presbyterian Church. There will be a reading of names of veterans lost from the church. A bell will ring for each departed veteran.

A Memorial Day ceremony will take place in the pavilion at the Glen Gough Memorial Park Monday, May 28, at 10 a.m. Participating in the ceremony will be the American Legion Post 323 of Pickford, Law-White Veterans of Foreign Wars and Ladies Auxiliary of Clark Township, and the Pickford Public Schools Band. The band will play the "Star Spangled Banner" and "Taps."