Special to Seacoastonline
| Portsmouth Herald
Portsmouth: Wreath-laying ceremony and parade with ‘rare’ route
The city announced its Memorial Day observances for 2026, beginning with the annual wreath‑laying ceremony on Friday, May 22, at 11 a.m. in Prescott Park.
The event, held rain or shine, will feature a performance by the Portsmouth Middle School ensemble and a wreath placed on the Piscataqua River to honor service members lost at sea.
On Monday, May 25, at 1 p.m., the city will host a Memorial Day/250th Commemorative Parade. The parade will step off from Parrott Avenue, turn onto Richards Avenue, pause for a wreath‑laying at the Logan’s Orders monument in South Cemetery, then continue along South Street to Junkins Avenue before returning to Parrott Avenue. Portions of Richards Avenue and South Street will be closed to parking and traffic during the event. In case of rain, a ceremony will be held inside City Hall Council Chambers.
The Recreation Department is encouraging residents along the route to decorate and watch from their porches, noting Portsmouth does not host a Memorial Day parade every year and a parade along Richards Avenue and this stretch of South Street is “especially rare.”
City facilities will be closed on Monday, May 25, and there will be no trash or recycling pickup that day; Monday’s collection will be combined with Tuesday’s. The Portsmouth Public Library and Community Campus will be closed May 23–25.
Also on Memorial Day, the USS Albacore Submarine Memorial Park will hold its annual ceremony at 10 a.m.
Dover: Ceremony at Pine Hill Cemetery
A Memorial Day ceremony will be held on Monday, May 25, 2026, beginning at 11 a.m. at Pine Hill Cemetery and hosted by Dover’s Woodman Museum and American Legion Post 8.
The event will include opening remarks by Woodman Museum Executive Director Jonathan Nichols, a Memorial Day address by Dover Mayor Dennis Shanahan, remarks by American Legion Commander Wayne Gower, a wreath-laying ceremony, presentation of colors by the Dover High School NJROTC, the playing of Taps by Dover High School students Sofia Gonzalez Ramirez and Michael Ranti, and the national anthem, performed by Dover High School student Luna Hubbard.
The ceremony will be held at Veterans Circle, which can be accessed from the East Watson Street entrance to the cemetery.
Durham
Remembrance ceremony will be held Monday, May 25 at 10 a.m. at Memorial Park on Main Street. Community members are invited to pay tribute to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving and protecting the country.
Exeter: Memorial Day parade to honor the fallen
The town’s annual Memorial Day Parade will be held Monday, May 25, beginning at 10 a.m. at Swasey Parkway. A helicopter wreath drop is scheduled to take place at the parkway before the parade steps off.
The procession will travel from Swasey Parkway to the bandstand, continue to the Historical Society, and conclude at Gale Park Cemetery. This year’s featured speaker will be General Don Bolduc.
“We hope everybody comes out to honor the fallen,” said Florence Ruffner, who organizes the parade. “That’s what it’s all about.”
Hampton area: Army veteran Kyle Saltonstall to speak
The Hamptons American Legion Post 35 will hold its annual Memorial Day ceremonies on Monday, May 25, and the public is invited to attend.
The day will begin at 8 a.m. with a ceremony at the Marine Memorial at Hampton Beach, followed by a 9 a.m. ceremony at Weare Common in Hampton Falls. At 10 a.m., North Hampton will hold its Memorial Day parade, which follows a new route this year; units will form at 9:45 a.m. in the library parking lot on Atlantic Avenue, and a ceremony will take place in front of North Hampton School after the parade. The Hampton parade will step off at 11:30 a.m., with units forming at 11:15 a.m. next to the Hampton Fire Department on Winnacunnet Road, and a ceremony will follow at High Street Cemetery.
This year’s guest speaker is Army veteran Kyle Saltonstall, who deployed to Afghanistan in 2016 as an Advanced Tactical Paramedic with the 4th Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), known as the Night Stalkers. His military honors include the Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon and the Parachutist Badge.
Post 35 invites all veterans and Scout units from Hampton, North Hampton and Hampton Falls to participate in both the North Hampton and Hampton parades.
Newfields: Memorial Day & USA 250th celebration
The town of Newfields will mark Memorial Day weekend and the nation’s 250th anniversary with a full slate of events May 23–24.
Festivities begin Saturday, May 23, with an 8:30 a.m. naval launch at Chapman’s Landing. A Bill Tebo sign unveiling will follow, leading into the town’s parade and picnic at Hilton Field at 11 a.m. The afternoon features a 2 p.m. U.S. Militia vs. Red Coats skirmish and a 5 p.m. militia encampment.
Events continue Sunday, May 24, starting with a 9 a.m. pancake breakfast. An old‑fashioned fireman’s muster is scheduled for 4 p.m., followed by food trucks, a beer tent, and family activities beginning at 6 p.m. The celebration concludes with fireworks at 9 p.m. A rain date is set for Monday, May 25.
Rochester: Flags of Honor and parade
Vouchers for Veterans and the city of Rochester announced Flags of Honor will again put heroism on display at Rocester Common over Memorial Day weekend, May 23–25.
Flags of Honor is a display of 550 full-sized American flags arranged within and around the ⅓-mile oval park, each flag dedicated to an individual veteran.
“Every year we witness several people wiping away tears as they stroll among the field of flags, reading names on each card,” said Jeanne Grover, Vouchers for Veterans founder and board president. “We are so grateful to the city of Rochester for partnering with us so that this display is available for the community.”
Each evening at 7 p.m., buglers will play echo taps, and a bagpiper will perform while walking among the field of flags. Some of the flags will be dedicated by local businesses in memory of individual New Hampshire and Maine veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice. The remaining flags will be dedicated to any American veteran of the community’s choosing. Each flag is identified with a laminated card containing the name, branch, rank, and insignia of the veteran being honored, and is attached to its own flagpole with a yellow silk ribbon.
On Monday, May 25, the Rochester Memorial Day Parade will conclude at the Rochester Common at approximately 11 a.m.., followed by a ceremony.
Information: vouchersforveterans.org
Somersworth
A Memorial Day parade and services will be held Monday May 25.
Services will be held as follows: 9:15 a.m. at Forest Glade Cemetery, 9:30 a.m. at Greek Orthodox Cemetery, 9:45 a.m. at Mt. Calvary Cemetery, 10:15 a.m. at Holy Trinity Cemetery and 10:25 a.m. at Tri-City Covenant Church Cemetery.
The parade will start at 11:30 a.m. at the American Legion. There will be two brief ceremonies at Veterans Memorial on Main Street and at the Berwick Bridge.
Stratham: Memorial Day parade and ceremony
The town of Stratham will hold its Memorial Day parade and ceremony on Monday, May 25.
The parade steps off at 1:30 p.m. from Jack Rabbit Lane and will travel east along Portsmouth Avenue to Stratham Hill Park, featuring fire trucks, police vehicles, the Cooperative Middle School band, Scouts, youth sports teams, antique cars and trucks, and other community groups. Portsmouth Avenue between Jack Rabbit Lane and the park will be closed to traffic during the procession.
A Memorial Day ceremony will follow in the Veterans Memorial Garden at Stratham Hill Park. The guest speaker will be Joe Pace, executive director of the American Independence Center in Exeter and a Stratham native with a long record of public service, including roles in local government, education, and Rotary leadership.
The wreath‑laying will be performed by lifelong resident Josephine “Jody” Wiggin Scamman, daughter of Stratham’s first fire chief and wife of its third. She will be joined by Stratham Fire Chief Jeffrey M. Denton, a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel who served more than 26 years in the New Hampshire Air National Guard.
Master of Ceremonies Jeff Gallagher said this year’s observance carries added meaning as the nation marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
“The parade allows us to celebrate and honor as a community,” he said.
Kittery, Maine
A Memorial Day service will be held at Orchard Grove Cemetery at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 23.
Kennebunks, Maine
Kennebunkport and Kennebunk will each hold Memorial Day parades on Monday, May 25, with ceremonies planned to honor those who died in military service.
The day begins with a sequence of salutes at local memorials and cemeteries starting at 7:30 a.m. at the American Legion Monument, followed by stops in Cape Porpoise, Arundel Cemetery, and North Street Cemetery, according to the event schedule.
A breakfast for parade marchers will be held at the Masonic Hall at 7:30 a.m., and Temple Street will close to general traffic at 8:45 a.m. Participants must be in place by 9 a.m., with the Kennebunkport parade stepping off at 9:30 a.m. The procession will return to Dock Square for a ceremony at 10 a.m., and the parade will conclude by 10:30 a.m.
A Legion Social for veterans, members, and parade participants will follow at noon.
Kennebunk’s parade begins at 2 p.m., preceded by a 1:30 p.m. band concert on the steps of Town Hall. The parade route starts at Town Hall on Summer Street, proceeds through Main and High streets, and ends at the fire station on Summer Street.
Any military veteran wishing to march — regardless of American Legion membership — is invited to meet at the Masonic Hall for breakfast and information and be on Temple Street by 9 a.m. to join the parade.
Participants include American Legion Post 159, American Legion Riders, the Dunlap Highland Band, Kennebunk Middle and High School bands, Boy Scout Troop 304, and the Kennebunkport police and fire departments.
Wells, Maine
The town of Wells is inviting residents and visitors to gather in remembrance for the 2026 Memorial Day Parade, scheduled for Monday, May 25, at 9 a.m.
The annual event honors the men and women who died in service to the nation, as well as all veterans and active‑duty members of the Armed Forces.
The parade will step off from Wells High School on Sanford Road and proceed east along Route 109 before turning south on Post Road (Route 1). It will conclude at Ocean View Cemetery, where a memorial ceremony will take place.
This year’s participants include the Committee for Veterans Affairs, the Atlantic Harmonies Youth Choir, Rev. David Hughes of Wells Congregational Church, the Wells‑Ogunquit Community School District music departments, Wells EMS, Wells Police, Wells Fire Department, the Civil Air Patrol Maine Wing, local veterans and town officials.
All veterans and current service members who wish to march are encouraged to join and should gather at the Wells Town Hall parking lot at 8:30 a.m. RSVPs are appreciated but not required.
York, Maine
The York Committee for Veteran’s Affairs will hold the town’s annual Memorial Day parade on Monday, May 25, beginning at 10 a.m.
The parade will step off from St. Christopher’s Church and proceed through town to First Parish Cemetery, with stops at the Soldiers Monument, the Korea, World War II, Revolutionary War and Old Cemetery memorials, the Civil War cannon, the World War I memorial, and the Vietnam Memorial.
A ceremony will follow at First Parish Church. The event is sponsored by the York Committee for Veteran’s Affairs and the town of York Parks and Recreation Department.
Sanford, Maine
The Sanford Veterans Memorial Committee is inviting the community to its Memorial Day observance on Monday, May 25, honoring past and present service members.
Wreath‑laying ceremonies will begin at 7:45 a.m. at Central Park, followed by stops at St. Ignatius Cemetery (8 a.m.), Oakdale Cemetery (8:15 a.m.), Sailors Park (8:30 a.m.), Riverside Cemetery (8:45 a.m.), Notre Dame Cemetery (9 a.m.), and Number One Pond (9:15 a.m.).
The Memorial Day parade will step off at 10 a.m., traveling from Number One Pond to Main Street and continuing to the gazebo at Walgreens in Springvale, where the town’s Memorial Ceremony will take place.
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