The River Forest Service Club
and
The River Forest Park District
are proud to present the

2011 River Forest Memorial Day Parade

May 30, 2011 at 11:00 am

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Parade Links
2011 Parade     2011 Parade Sponsors     2011 Sponsorship Levels
2011 Entrance Form (pdf)     2011 Honorees     Past Honorees     Died in Battle
LTC Brian Bassett, 2011 Grand Marshall
Pics, Honorees & Sponsors of Past Parades

Your sponsorship of this year's parade is requested.
Please see 2011 Sponsorship Levels to learn how to become a sponsor.

For your organization to "march" in the parade, your organization must be pre-registered.
Please see 2011 Entrance Form (pdf) to obtain the registration packet.

The purpose of the River Forest Memorial Day Parade is "To recognize and honor the men and women who are serving or who have served in the armed forces of the United States of America, and especially those who gave their lives in serving."

The annual Memorial Day Parade is the foremost community-wide celebration in River Forest. Each year more than one hundred businesses, community and civic groups participate in the parade, which draws thousands of viewers from River Forest and surrounding villages. Grand Marshals in past years have included officers from Great Lakes, including admirals, a World War II ace fighter pilot, and other dignitaries.

For many years the parade has featured a Riderless Horse to honor our country’s fallen heroes. There have been as many as eight musical groups in a single parade. Past parades have included the Great Lakes Naval Center Marching Band, drum and bugle corps, calliope, and local area high school marching bands. Additional participants have included Civil War re-enactors, numerous floats, Model “A” Fords, antique military vehicles, the National Flag Truck, clowns, neighborhood groups, scout troops, politicians, local businesses, and of course, fire trucks.

The community gathering in Keystone Park following the parade begins with a special ceremony featuring comments from the Grand Marshal, and the honoring of local veterans. Afterwards, members of the River Forest Service Club serve over 2000 free hotdogs to ceremony attendees.

The parade steps off at 11:00am from Division Street and Ashland Avenue
proceeding south on Ashland Avenue to Lake Street, then
west on Lake Street to Keystone Park.

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