Plan Hatched to Re-Establish Rye Memorial Day Parade

Two Rye groups plan to re-establish a Memorial Day parade down Purchase Street in 2014. The groups are asking for volunteers and have yet to seek city council approval.

If you have pictures or memories of past Memerial Day parades in Rye, please share them with MyRye.com.

Here are the details of the parade plan:

The American Legion Post 128 of Rye, and the Post’s Ladies Auxiliary, is planning to re-establish a dormant Rye tradition – a parade on Purchase Street to celebrate Memorial Day, Monday, May 26, 2014. The route will take marchers from Station Plaza at the Rye Metro North Station, down Purchase Street through the heart of Rye’s shopping district, to the Village Green, where the annual Memorial Day Services will be held.

The committee planning the event, which has not yet received approval from the Rye City Council, is headed by Robin Phelps Latimer, President of the Ladies Auxiliary, wife of State Senator George Latimer and long-time Rye resident. Individuals are welcome to join the organizing committee by contacting Phelps Latimer at 967-1819 or by e-mail at [email protected].

"I remember Rye holding a parade every year when I was young, fresh with recent veterans of World War II and Korea, generating a feeling of community pride and patriotism accompanying the celebration of Memorial Day”, Ms. Phelps Latimer said. “I want to bring back that tradition, and pass it along to those who are young, and to those who are new to the community, to keep for the years to come”.

Plans include outreach to school groups, scouts, bands and other organizations to participate in the parade, which would start after 9:30 a.m., and end on the Village Green no later than 10:15 a.m., with Memorial Day services on the Green beginning at 10:30 a.m.