LIFESTYLE

Memorial Day weekend: Parades, amusement parks and other things to do near Rochester

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle USA TODAY NETWORK

Memorial Day is the American holiday, observed on the last Monday of May, that honors the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military.

Here's a smattering of local events, services and things to do over the holiday weekend that's also the unofficial kickoff to summer in the Finger Lakes:

Brighton

  • A Memorial Day ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. Monday at the Veterans Memorial in Buckland Park, 1341 Westfall Road.

Burning Springs

  • Burning Springs will be open to the public from noon to 5 p.m. May 27 and 28 at 4348 Case Road, Bristol. The Bristol Springs Historical Society’s free event includes an optional hike up the gully to see the flame and waterfall. A lecture will be given at 2 p.m. both days.

East Rochester

  • The Memorial Day parade begins at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, and it will travel from 453 W. Commercial St. to 750 Main St. A remembrance ceremony will follow at Edmund Lyon Park.

Gates

  • A Memorial Day ceremony will begin at 9 a.m. Monday at Gates Town Hall, 1605 Buffalo Road.

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Greece

  • Starting at 11 a.m. Monday, the Memorial Day parade will proceed down Long Pond Road from Janes Road to the Greece Town Hall Campus on Vince Tofany Boulevard. (Parking will be available at Greece Town Hall until about 10:45 a.m.)
  • At 11:45 a.m., the Town of Greece Remembrance Ceremony will begin at the Greece Town Hall Pavilion.
Members of the North Greece Fire Department carry a large American flag in the Greece Memorial Day Parade in 2014.

Hilton

  • The Memorial Day parade will begin at 10:30 a.m. Monday at the intersection of East Avenue and Canning Street, proceeding west to Main Street and onto West Avenue, ending at the gazebo after turning onto Henry Street.
  • A short ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. on the south lawn of the Hilton Community Center, 59 Henry St.

Honeoye Falls and Mendon

  • Mendon’s parade will begin at 9:30 a.m. Monday at the Westminister Hall & Chapel (former Mendon Presbyterian Church) on Route 251 and proceed to Mendon Cemetery. A service will follow.
  • At 11:30 a.m., Honeoye Falls’ parade will begin at Honeoye Falls-Lima High School, at the corner of East and Church Streets, and go through the village to Honeoye Falls Cemetery. A service will follow. (At both events, Col. Mike Sweeney will speak and the Honeoye Falls-Lima High School Band will play the Star-Spangled Banner.)

Irondequoit

  • The Memorial Day parade will start at 3 p.m. Sunday. The route will commence at the intersection of Cooper Road and Titus Avenue, concluding near Town Hall on Kings Highway.
  • A memorial service honoring those who sacrificed their lives in service to the United States will begin at 9 a.m. Monday.

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Letchworth State Park

  • A host of activities are scheduled for Memorial Day weekend in Letchworth State Park in Livingston County. The biggest of them all is the Red, White and Blue Balloon Rally that runs through the weekend. The balloons will launch at 6 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday (just 6 p.m. on Friday) from the archery field near the Castile entrance, weather permitting.

Penfield

  • The town’s annual Memorial Day Ceremony of Remembrance will begin at 10:30 a.m. Monday, at Penfield Amphitheater in Veterans Memorial Park, 3100 Atlantic Ave.. It will include the presentation of roses on the monument to remember fallen service members. Minh-Tuan “Richard” H. Nguyen, a Rochester native and graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, will speak.

Pittsford

  • The town’s annual Memorial Day parade will begin at 10 a.m. at Sutherland High School. Marchers will go down down Jefferson Road to Main Street and end at Pittsford Cemetery, where the Memorial Day Remembrance Ceremony will be held. The Pittsford Fire Department Band, Prime Time Brass and others will perform. Afterward, the Rayson-Miller American Legion Post 899 will host a reception at 21 N. Main St., in the lower level of Village Hall.
Members of the Rayson-Miller Pittsford American Legion Post 899 lead a Memorial Day parade.

Rochester

  • A Decoration Day tour of Mt. Hope Cemetery starts at 11 a.m. Saturday at 791 Mt. Hope Ave. Visitors will learn about the origins of Memorial Day and hear stories of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Tickets are $15. For more details, visit FOMH.org.
  • The parade forms at Alexander Street and East Avenue at 10:30 a.m. Monday, proceeds along East Avenue to Main Street, then west on Main Street to Fitzhugh Street. It is sponsored by the Veterans Memorial Executive Council.

Rush

  • The town’s Memorial Day service will begin at noon Monday at the town memorial, across the street from the Creekside Inn; 6071 East Henrietta Road. It will include a speaker, a prayer, a rifle volley and taps.

Seabreeze Amusement Park

  • The park at 4600 Culver Road, Irondequoit, is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at 4600 Culver Road, Rochester. It's closed on Memorial Day.

Six Flags Darien Lake

Spencerport and Ogden

  • The Memorial Day Parade & Ceremony will begin at 9 a.m. Monday, on Union Street across from the Spencerport Village Offices and go south to Memorial Park.

Victor

  • On Monday, the parade will commence at 10:30 a.m. from the Victor Central School District parking lot, down High Street to Main Street, and will end at the Village Hall parking lot at 60 E. Main St., where the Memorial Day ceremony will take place. The procession will be led by veterans affiliated with the American Legion. Participants will include town officials, Fishers and Farmington firefighters and the Victor High School marching band and color guard.
  • Following the parade, a brief ceremony at the Village Hall parking lot will honor local veterans and those who have recently died.
  • The Victor Fire Department will serve a pancake breakfast from 6 to 9 a.m., and a car show will be held at Twin Elder Brewery, 75 Coville St., from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Waterloo

  • “Celebrate Commemorate Memorial Day” will include numerous events from Friday through Tuesday in the historic village that is Memorial Day’s birthplace. Go to https://waterloony.com for details, or click on https://bit.ly/3qbCxS6 to go directly to the schedule.

Webster

  • The parade will begin at 9:30 a.m. Monday at Spry Middle School on Sanford Street and go down South Avenue. It will turn west on Main Street and end at Webster Rural Cemetery, where a ceremony will be held. All active duty and ex-servicemen and -women may participate.