Bronxville’s 96th Annual Memorial Day Celebration About to Commence

By Carol P. Bartold
May 25, 2016: Bronxville’s 96th annual Memorial Day celebration will begin at 9:00 am sharp on Monday, May 30, with the opening ceremony at the flagpole in Leonard Morange Park. Parade units will be lined up on Parkway Road and at the train station, ready to march upon the order from Grand Marshal Donald Gray.
Village Administrator Jim Palmer and Mary Ann Magliato, secretary to the mayor and village administrator, report that among the participants in this year’s parade will be The Bronxville Women’s Club, NewYork-Presbyterian/Lawrence Hospital, Daughters of the American Revolution, the Bronxville Chamber of Commerce, The Bronxville Historical Conservancy, the Bronxville Beautification Council, and Gramatan Village.
The X Factor Drum Line, Patriot Brass Ensemble, Sword of Light Pipe Band, and 5th New York Regiment will be on hand to provide music and entertainment in the parade.
The parade will proceed through the underpass to Pondfield Road, march through the downtown business district, and end at The Bronxville School’s front lawn. Mayor Mary Marvin will speak from the dais on the school’s front steps. Commemoration of military personnel who lost their lives in war will take place on the front lawn, with local dignitaries and representatives from local organizations laying wreaths of remembrance at the flagpole.
“Memorial Day is the most important day of the mayor’s year for me,” said Mayor Mary Marvin. “Every year it is a distinct honor for me to recognize the veterans in our community.”
Flexibility became the watchword in planning this year’s Memorial Day celebration because of scheduling surrounding construction staging and initial work on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Midland Valley Drainage Project.
In place of the Monday carnival, the PTA is holding a Country Fair on Friday night, May 27, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm on the front lawn of the school. Pondfield Road will be closed to vehicular traffic. Various food trucks will offer dinner options.
According to Dan Carlin, assistant superintendent for business of the Bronxville schools, a construction trailer will be located on Hayes Field between the discus cage and the bleachers, preventing the use of the field this year for the Bronxville School PTA carnival.
Although the construction trailer was scheduled to be installed at the beginning of May, a weeklong period of wet weather and muddy conditions on Hayes Field precluded moving the construction trailer in place. Carlin stated that the field must be dry before the trailer can be put in place.
Initial construction staging activity for the FEMA project will take place in the upper parking lot adjacent to the field.
Pictured here: A float in the 2009 Bronxville Memorial Day parade.
Photo by A. Warner







