Memorial Day Parade Returns to Kent After Brief Hiatus

A Memorial Day Parade returns to Kent this year after construction on the parade route canceled the event last year.

Heavy construction in the area of Fairchild Avenue and North Mantua Street for the new Fairchild Avenue Bridge forced organizers to cancel last year's parade, but this year the roads are open and the city has given the all-clear for the parade to return.

"It feels good," John Wilson, vice commander of the Kent American Legion, said. The legion post coordinates the parade.

"We’re excited that we’re able to get it back and get it going again for the community and surrounding areas," Wilson said. "There were a lot of people that were pretty upset about it. Going through that construction area just was not safe, especially for walking units."

Construction on the bridge continues, and there is one potential small obstacle because of a big dip in the roadway between the new and old bridges.

"I don’t think that’s a big concern," Wilson said.

The parade line-up for units starts at 9 a.m. Monday between DePeyster and Willow streets. The parade starts at 10 a.m. and will travel west on East Main Street through downtown. The parade will stop on the Main Street Bridge for a brief ceremony, and then the units will march north on North Mantua Street to for a final ceremony.

Wilson said he's contacted about 30 organizations to try and line up units for the parade. Anyone interested can call the Kent American Legion post at 330-673-2568.

"It’s probably not going to be as large as it has been in the past, after being off for a year," he said. "The permits and everything have been pulled, the city’s given the OK to do it, the construction’s there and it’s not going to have any effect whatsoever on the parade this year."