Lakes Region communities honor Memorial Day

LACONIA — Communities throughout the Lakes Region will be commemorating Memorial Day on Monday. Below is a partial list of events.

Participants in the Gilford Memorial Day parade will gather at the Gilford Community Church parking lot at 9:45 a.m., and the parade will proceed to the Veterans Memorial across the street at 10 a.m. to raise the American flag and sing the National Anthem. Afterward the parade will proceed to Pine Grove Cemetery to honor fallen veterans. 

Meredith Memorial Day events will begin at with an 8 a.m. memorial at Oakland Cemetery. The parade procession will begin at 9:50 from the American Legion Post parking lot, with a ceremony in front of the library and at Lang Street Cemetery, then a gathering at the Heskey Park bandstand where female veterans will be invited to speak. Afterward there will be lunch and ice cream available at the Legion Post. 

The Gilmanton parade marking the holiday will be on Sunday, May 29. It will process from the Smith Meeting House at 11 a.m. 

The Laconia Memorial Day parade has been canceled due to a lack of commitments from community organizations. There will still be a ceremony in Veterans Square at 11 a.m. on Memorial Day. 

Belmont’s Memorial Day parade will begin at 1 p.m. at the Belmont Middle School Parking lot on Memorial Day. The parade will proceed along Main Street to the veterans memorial by St. Joseph’s Church for a ceremony. 

The parade in Alton will begin at 10 a.m. on Memorial Day in Monument Square. Paraders will walk along Main Street to the Old Riverside Cemetery for a ceremony and then return to Monument Square for a program. 

At noon on Memorial Day, Franklin will host an unveiling ceremony for the new Lance Corporal Jedh C. Barker Memorial Monument at the Franklin Veterans Memorial across from the High School. Barker, who was killed in action in 1967, was awarded the medal of honor in 1969 and is New Hampshire’s only medal of honor recipient from the Vietnam War. There will be a dedication service at 2 p.m. for LCpl Barker at the Franklin VFW.