2023 Nutley Memorial Day Parade: See Route, Ceremony Details

NUTLEY, NJ — Nutley will hold its 102nd annual Memorial Day parade on Monday, May 29.

“The Memorial Day Parade serves as a tribute to honor all of our U.S. service members who selflessly and valiantly gave their lives to protect our freedom and liberty,” Mayor Joseph Scarpelli said.

“Memorial Day is a day we put aside to honor our fallen heroes and pray that no heroes will ever again have to make the ultimate sacrifice protecting our nation,” he added.

Weather permitting, the day’s events will kick off with the Nutley War Memorial Remembrance Ceremony starting at 7:30 a.m. at VFW Post 493, located at 271 Washington Avenue. Following the ceremony, the township will gather to honor Nutley’s fallen firefighters at the Public Safety Building at 10:30 a.m. Opening ceremonies will begin at 11 a.m. at the Park Oval.

The parade route is the same as previous years – Chestnut Street to Passaic Avenue to Centre Street to Franklin Avenue, with the reviewing stage in front of John H. Walker Middle School.

The Rev. Pamela Bakal will offer the prayer at the opening ceremonies. This year’s grand marshal is Daniel Jacoby.

The Board of Commissioners is inviting family members of soldiers – both active military and veterans – to march in the parade, and is collecting names of those in the community who are currently serving. These names will be added to an already existing banner, which will be carried throughout the parade and displayed on the Nutley Park Oval fence outside of the Town Hall.

WALK IN THE PARK TOUR

On Sunday, May 28, the 102nd Memorial Day Weekend activities will begin with the Nutley Historical Society sponsoring “A Walk in the Park,” a tour led by Nutley Museum director John Simko.

The tour begins at 9 a.m. in Memorial Park at the Mud Hole (near the intersection of Passaic and Vreeland Avenues) and travels along the Third River.

According to a municipal news release, Simko will discuss the river’s role in Nutley’s history as a source for early industry, as inspiration for world-renowned artists, as a symbol of civic pride, as an important boundary marker, and as a fitting memorial to our war veterans. The tour will also visit the sites of three former mills and the pre-Revolutionary War Van Giesen homestead, while also detailing why the Third River is split in two, the beginnings of the 100-year-old Carnegie Library and even-older Town Hall, and walking through one of Nutley’s oldest cemeteries.

“A Walk in the Park” ends at 10:30 a.m. inside Nutley’s first brick schoolhouse (now the Nutley Historical Society and Museum, located at 65 Church St.). The museum will be open to the public, and tour-related items from our archives will be on display.

“A Walk in the Park” is free but is limited to 15 people and requires registration. People can register for the tour by emailing johnsimko1014@gmail.com or by calling 973-752-8984 and leaving a message with your phone number or email address. They will receive confirmation via email or a phone call.

The rain date is Monday, May 29 at 9 a.m.

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com. Learn more about advertising on Patch here. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site. Don’t forget to visit the Patch Belleville-Nutley Facebook page.