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What's The Plan for Memorial Day?

What's The Plan for Memorial Day?

It's the unofficial start of summer and a time to honor those who served.

Kayla Kaplowitz's avatar
Kayla Kaplowitz
May 19, 2025
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What's The Plan for Memorial Day?
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The South Salem Memorial Day Parade 2024. 📸: Kids' Community Club Lewisboro

Last fall, we took the kids on a train to D.C. to attend a long-awaited funeral at Arlington National Cemetery. It was for a friend of ours who served in the Army’s 10th Special Forces Group, did three tours in Iraq, and earned a Bronze Star.

I’m so glad we went.

The military funeral honors ceremony—which included a three-volley rifle salute, a bugler playing Taps, and the flag-folding ceremony—was beautiful. As I walked back to the car with goosebumps, I realized, every American needs to experience a ritual like that. It reminds you of how much we owe to those who serve our country.

If you have time Memorial Day weekend to attend some sort of commemorative service with your kids, do it. And then go celebrate the official start of summer.

Whether you’re heading to a BBQ with family or friends, venturing out to a big town parade or party (scroll down for a complete list of every Memorial Day event), or staying home and taking it easy, I hope it’s a good one.

Are you still inputting town events into your calendar yourself? Upgrade to get subscriber access to The Plan calendar and copy any event to your own calendar in one second. 👇

  • On dessert duty? If you’ve been tasked with bringing a dessert to a BBQ, my sister-in-law Marisa (who runs A Lovely Living) tells me this berry trifle is delish. It’s the kind of dessert that looks impressive but isn’t all that hard to assemble.


    You can also try making this patriotic cake, which is another simple and delicious option. I’ve made it two years in a row with my oldest, and she loves it because she can do the decorations all by herself.

I can confirm this cake is delicious.
  • On salad duty? Pick something from this simple summer salad chart by one of my new favorite recipe bloggers, Julia Turshen, and you’re good to go. Or you could just grab some greens & veggies from Ridgefield Organics and pick up a homemade vinaigrette from À Table next door. We just tried the sherry shallot one, but my favorite is the walnut.

  • Hate your picnic blanket? Get a good one. It took years, but I finally found it: the perfect picnic blanket. Like Goldilocks, every one I tried was either too heavy to carry or too annoying to fold, but this one is just right. It’s light, folds up super small, and is easy to wipe clean. I saw NY Mag just released their faves, too. The Scuddles or Baggu one look great.

  • Need to lug a bunch of stuff to your favorite parade-viewing spot? Get a Hulken bag. I get so many compliments on this ridiculous monstrosity. We have the large version and use it at the town pool because it fits SO MUCH (up to 66lbs!) and is easy to roll on any concrete surface. My kids fight over who gets to pull it.

  • Need to keep the kids busy at a BBQ? Consider these outdoor craft ideas from friend of The Plan and early childhood educator Jessica Vigliotti (who you may remember shared with us her go-to indoor activities in the dead of winter).

    • Rock painting – Ask the kids to find, collect and wash smooth rocks. (Or just buy a bag of them at Michael’s.) Acrylic paint is best, though acrylic paint pens are a mess-free option. “An oldie but goodie,” she says.

    • Group canvas – Pick up a large canvas from an art store and choose paint colors that are in the same palette. Acrylic paint is best, but paint sticks, and/or washable paint works too (finish with a clear coat at the end). Provide brushes of different sizes, and a variety of different tools to make marks, like LEGO for stamping, toy cars to drive through the paint, etc. “Trust the process,” says Jess. “You will get an amazing piece of art as a memento of a festive picnic!”

    • Make your own pinwheel – DIY sets like this provide a fun and simple craft to keep kids busy. “Plus, they can use the pinwheels at an upcoming parade.”

Go Premium for just $5/m or $50/year and I’ll give you access to The Plan calendar + the entire newsletter archive. 👇

Here’s a rundown of every major Memorial Day-themed event happening around town on MONDAY, MAY 26. I included events in South Salem, Ridgefield, North Salem, Pound Ridge, Katonah, Bedford, Goldens Bridge, New Canaan, Somers, Wilton, Bedford Hills, Yorktown Heights and Pleasantville.

Subscribe to The Plan calendar to see all the weekend events leading up to the big day; there are many. Some towns, like Redding, for example, are doing their parade & party on Saturday afternoon, and Westchester County Govt. will be hosting their annual Memorial Day service on Friday morning at Lasdon Park in Katonah.

~~ 16 Memorial Day events below the paywall. ~~

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