Monroe County and the City of Rochester will host their first Veterans Day Parade next month.
That announcement was made Wednesday at Rochester City Hall in Rochester by County Executive Adam Bello, Congressman Joe Morelle and Mayor Malik Evans.
Bello said the parade will step off on Saturday, Nov. 12, at 10:30 a.m. and follow the same route as the annual Lilac Festival Parade, concluding with a celebration at Gary Beikirch Memorial Park.
It will start at the corner of S. Goodman St. and Highland Ave., and proceed up Highland to the Greater Rochester Vietnam Veterans Memorial on South Ave. in Gary Beikirch Memorial Park.
Bello said the parade is one way the community can say “thank you” to our veterans.
``We need to thank our veterans.,” said Bello. “They put their lives on the line for us, their families have made incredible sacrifices for all of us. And I think this is just a really great, appropriate way to say thank you, and then celebrate their service at the conclusion of the parade.”
Officials said that a family-oriented honor ceremony featuring music and local food vendors will immediately follow the parade at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Veterans Outreach Center Executive Director Laura Stradley said that, “Time and again, the county shows this community that they stand behind our veterans.”
Organizations interested in joining the Veterans Day Parade and Honor Ceremony can apply on the county’s website at: www.monroecounty.gov/vsa
