The 98th South Bend Westside Memorial Day Parade will be returning to Ford St at 8:15am on Monday, May 27th. The parade will feature floats and walking units traveling East on Ford St from Lombardy to Olive honoring fallen veterans. It will last approximately an hour and a half.

This year’s theme is “Lest we forget”.

Dr. Damian Dieter and a group of pilots will fly over the parade route at approximately 8:30 am.

There will be a Memorial Service at St Joseph Cemetery, 24980 SR 2, South Bend, at 10:15am. Mass will be held first, then will be followed by Military Honors and the reading of the names of the deceased veterans in St. Joseph County for the year.

Groups in the parade can park in the Storage King/Planet Fitness Lot, Navarre Middle School lot, and St Adalbert’s lot (located at the end of the parade). No parking is permitted along the parade route or the staging area (Ford St from Lombardy to Scenic and Summit St from Ford to Mayfair) from 6 am to 11 am.

Onlookers can watch the parade from Lombardy to Olive St. You might want to bring a chair! Programs will be passed out that lists participants, who made it happen, and the deceased veterans for the year.

In preparation for the parade, Mayor James Mueller will temporarily rename the intersection of Ford St and Lombardy at 12 p.m. on Friday, May 24th.