Various veterans groups are planning Memorial Day parades and festivities around St. Lawrence County over the weekend.

Ceremonies are planned in Canton, Colton, Heuvelton, Madrid, Massena, Norwood, Ogdensburg, Potsdam and Waddington, with parades, gun salutes, marching bands and wreath laying ceremonies.

Canton

The annual Canton Memorial Day parade is being hosted by the Edward C. Seymour VFW Post 1231. The parade will begin at 10:30 a.m. at the U.S. Army Reserve Center on West Main Street.

Parade marchers will march up U.S. Route 11 across the bridge to conduct a wreath ceremony on the bridge’s south side. Traditionally the wreath would be thrown from the bridge’s north side, but the location was changed due to the ongoing state DOT bridge reconstruction project.

The parade will then continue up Main Street to the village park where services and ceremonies will take place.

Parade marchers are asked to be at the Reserve Center by 9:30 a.m. to line up.

The Potsdam Robert J. Freego Amvets Post 282 is planning to participate in the Canton parade.

Colton

The Colton Amvets will host a Memorial Day parade and two wreath ceremonies.

Parade marchers will line up at the school at 9:30. The parade is expected to commence at 10:30 a.m.

Two wreath ceremonies will be held, one over water in the village, and the other at the memorial in the center of town.

The school band will march and perform patriotic songs during the parade.

Heuvelton

The Amvets in Heuvelton will travel to Hillcrest Cemetery at 1 p.m. and Pine Hill Cemetery at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 27 to lay wreaths and put flags on the graves of departed veterans.

Madrid and Waddington

Local veterans’ groups in Madrid and Waddington will march with the Madrid-Waddington school parade band through downtown Madrid at 9 a.m. on Memorial Day. The group will then stage a parade in Waddington through downtown starting at 10:30.

Massena

Massena’s Memorial Day celebration will be May 28. This year’s event is spearheaded by the American Legion.

A parade will start at 11:30 a.m. at Sacred Heart Church, proceed north on Main Street, turn onto Andrews Street and end at Veterans Park.

Marchers will include local military organizations, Boy, Girl and Cub Scouts, the Massena High School Marching Band, firefighters and the Coast Guard Auxiliary.

There will be a ceremony in the park that organizers say will last about 45 minutes. It will be inside the fire station if there is rain.

Veterans’ clubs will serve buffets afterward, with the main gathering at the American Legion on East Orvis Street.

Norwood

Norwood American Legion will host a Memorial Day Parade to honor veteran’s Monday.

A memorial service will be held at the bridge at 10:45 a.m. A parade will follow the service with a march down Spring Street at 11 a.m. to Village Park for a brief ceremony. The ceremony will include a 21-gun salute and dedication.

Following the dedication, a complimentary luncheon will be held at the Legion Post.

A memorial service will be held at the post monuments at 1 p.m.

Ogdensburg

The Ogdensburg Memorial Day parade will start at 10 a.m. in Library Park Monday.

The procession, made up of color guards and members of veterans groups, will then march up State Street to the Ogdensburg Cemetery.

At the cemetery, ceremonies will be held at the veterans’ plots there along with a gun salute. Soup and sandwiches will be available afterwards at the VFW

In the event of rain, the parade will be canceled and the services will take place at the VFW Post 2936.

The public is invited to attend the ceremony.

Potsdam

The annual Memorial Day ceremonies and services in Potsdam will be held Saturday, Sunday and Monday, May 26, 27 and 28.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Roy D. Graves Post 1194, American Legion, and Disabled American Veterans (DAV) posts visit local cemeteries and the Veterans Memorial in Ives Park, and hold a parade each year.

On Saturday, flags at veterans’ graves will be replaced at St. Mary’s and Garfield cemeteries by VFW members, at Bayside Cemetery by American Legion members, and at the cemetery at Southville by members of the DAV.

On Sunday, they go to the same cemeteries for prayers, 21-gun salutes and wreath presentations. They will meet at the VFW post, 95 Market St., at 8:30 a.m. and leave at 9 a.m. for the Southville, St. Mary’s, Garfield and Bayside cemeteries, and then to the Veterans’ Memorial at Ives Park.

On Monday, local veterans and any active-duty or ROTC members are encouraged to meet at the VFW post at 8:15 before leaving for Potsdam High School at 8:30 and the start of the annual parade at 9 a.m.

The parade marches onto Leroy Street, up Cottage Street to Market Street, then to the Veterans’ Memorial in Ives Park for a ceremony at about 10 a.m. with Mayor Ron Tischler, a representative of Clarkson University’s ROTC program, and Potsdam First Presbyterian Church Pastor Rev. Deborah Packard.

VFW Commander Scott Nelson asks local vets who would like to march in the parade to call him at 315-244-8686.