Celebrate Memorial Day with a Concert for Our Heroes

This Memorial Day weekend, many Fanwoodians will opt for a beach vacation or swimming through the Memorial Day sales at the mall. However this year, local officials are urging residents to stay in town and honor the true meaning of Memorial Day with a concert for our heroes and a tribute to those who gave their lives to this country.

On Sunday, May 27, the Westfield Community Band, which is currently celebrating its hundredth anniversary, will play a variety of patriotic tunes. Local veterans will also read tributes and to the fallen, and personal remembrances of life at war. The concert begins at 7 p.m. on the north side lawn at the Fanwood Train Station. Don’t forget to bring a blanket or a lawn chair!

This soon to be annual tradition was organized by the Memorial Day Committee, the VFW and American Legion, with guidance from Mayor Colleen Mahr and Scotch Plains Councilman Kevin Glover.

 “I hope you will join me and my family as the Westfield Community Band plays those stirring songs that remind us of our pride to be living in the United States of America,” Mayor Mahr said. “This free concert is a reminder that Memorial Day is a remembrance of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their nation, not simply a vacation to the beach or a barbeque with friends.”

Councilman Glover approached Mayor Mahr with the hopes of organizing the concert after he faced some opposition from his fellow council members.

“This is not just about the music, it’s about recognizing those heroes who lost their lives,” Glover said. The tributes that will be read by our veterans will be letters written at the battlefront. Here were our gallant soldiers writing home, telling their loved ones – ‘I’m okay.’ We know that so many of them did not make it back to our shores.”   

Glover stated that the Memorial Day Committee “worked tirelessly” to plan and raise money to fund the event. The concert has been fully funded through donations given by many local businesses and dedicated residents. Any extra funding will be donated to a local Veterans Hospital, Glover said.

“Of all the things that I have done on the council, this is the one that I am most proud of,” Glover said. “I couldn’t be more excited for this opportunity to tell all of our veterans yes, we remember your sacrifice and we honor your fallen comrades.”

Memorial Day festivities in SPF will continue on Monday morning with the Memorial Parade – a 60-year-old tradition in this community. The parade will begin at the Village Green in Scotch Plains at 10:30 a.m. and arrive in Fanwood at approximately 11 a.m.