Join Leonardtown as It Honors Veterans
Join Leonardtown’s salute to America’s veterans at the annual Veterans Day parade on Saturday, November 11. The parade steps off from St. Mary’s Ryken High School at 10am, proceeds along Fenwick Street and through town and is immediately followed by a memorial ceremony in Leonardtown Square.
For more information, email [email protected] or call 301-475-9791.
In the event of inclement weather, the parade will be canceled, and the memorial ceremony will take place inside the Leonardtown Town Hall at 22670 Washington St. The cancellation decision will be made by 8am November 11, and a cancellation notice will be posted at VisitLeonardtownMD.com/VeteransDay and Facebook (Facebook.com/TownofLeonardtown)
Spectators should park at the St. Mary’s County Fairgrounds, St. Mary’s County Governmental Center, College of Southern Maryland, or the Garvey Senior Center/Leonardtown Library lots. At the governmental center, spectators should use the lots adjacent to the Carter State Office Building at 23115 Leonard Hall Drive in Leonardtown.
Washington Street and Fenwick Street leading into downtown Leonardtown will be closed to traffic from 8am until noon. Downtown parking and through traffic will be limited to areas accessible from Lawrence Avenue for residents, business owners and employees only. Deputies from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office will provide traffic control and parade volunteers will assist with parking and street detours.
Spectators requiring handicapped parking may take Washington Street and (upon showing proof of a handicapped sticker or need) will be allowed to park in the public lot beside the Hair Company or Lawrence Avenue to be directed to designated handicap parking.
Bells of Peace
The bells at St. Clement’s Island Museum and Piney Point Lighthouse Museum will toll on November 11 at 11am to honor the 116,516 Americans, including the 27 St. Mary’s County natives, who died in World War I.
The program, Bells of Peace: A World War I Remembrance, begun in 2018 to commemorate the centennial of World War I, is a collaborative program announced by the World War I Centennial Commission in coordination with the Pritzker Military Museum & Library, the Society of the Honor Guard of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the American Legion, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, whereby American citizens and organizations across the entire country are invited to toll bells in their communities 29 times at 11am November 11.
Flags for Heroes
Leonardtown Rotary Club’s Flags for Heroes ceremony will take place at 1pm November 13 at the College of Southern Maryland’s Leonardtown campus.
For Rotary members, a hero is a selfless individual who quietly goes above and beyond the call of duty or position. A hero can be anyone who made a lasting impression on a person or family.
A veteran who lives and works in St. Mary’s County will be present to receive Leonardtown Rotary’s Flags for Heroes’ scholarship of a $1,000 check to further education at the College of Southern Maryland.
That scholarship, along with other of the Rotary Club’s charitable causes, are made possible with funds generated from the many individuals who sponsor US flags posted in recognition of relatives, friends, veterans, and local and national heroes both past and present.
More than 100 flags honoring heroes will be flown through December 1.
Click here for more information.
