Memorial Day Celebrations; Canoga Park’s Memorial Day Parade Returns

Memorial Day always takes place on the last Monday of May, which was May 30 of this year. The holiday honors American men and women who died while serving in the military. On Memorial Day Weekend, millions of people visited cemeteries and memorials honoring their war dead. At national cemeteries, American flags were placed on each grave site. At 3:00 p.m. local time, a national moment of remembrance took place while a bugler from the United States Army Band played a haunting rendition of “Taps“.

Most people see Memorial Day Weekend as the official start of summer, so there were plenty of things for you and your family to do in your local area, especially here in California. Canoga Park’s Memorial Day Parade made a triumphant return this year after being cancelled last year due to the down economy. The parade included military marching units, bands, floats, dignitaries, antique cars, classic cars, youth groups, flyovers by military aircraft, and equestrian units. After the parade, there is a festival at Quimby Park with music, food and vendors. In Garden Grove, the Garden Grove Strawberry Festival took place during the holiday weekend, where people were treated to carnival rides, pageants, a Strawberry Idol Karaoke Contest, a Red-Head Roundup Contest, a Berry Beautiful Baby Pageant, and a strawberry-themed parade on Saturday. There are so many things you can do to celebrate Memorial Day. If you did not want to go to a big public event, a nice BBQ would have kicked off the summer for you and your family or neighbors nicely!