Above / Spectators are welcome to line the streets in downtown Naperville during the West Suburban Irish St. Patrick’s Parade stepping off at 10AM Sat., March 11. Afterward, plan time to enjoy lunch in one of more than 80 eateries and treat shops in downtown Naperville. Then mark your calendar for the annual Naperville Memorial Day Parade on May 29, 2023.
Marching Music Day officially is observed annually on the Fourth of March.
The Naperville Municipal Band, known to march in parades from Memorial Day through Labor Day, has been around since 1859.
According to the notice on March 4 about national days to remember in America, Marching Band Day is also known as March Forth and National Marching Arts Day, a time to celebrate “the ‘march’ music genre, which features a strong regular rhythm expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by military bands.”
For 2023, Naperville will kick off its love for parades and marching bands during the St. Patrick’s Parade with a history that dates back to 1993. Hosted by the West Suburban Irish, the St. Patrick’s Parade will step off at 10AM Sat., March 11.
Among the 86 entries in this year’s St. Patrick’s Parade will be up to 20 candidates running in the Consolidated Election, all marching to sounds of drummers drumming and bagpipers piping shrill melodies.
Strike up the marching bands in Naperville from St. Patrick’s Day through the Holiday Parade of Lights!
2023 Naperville Memorial Day Parade is May 29
Currently, the Naperville Memorial Day Parade Committee is accepting registrations for its annual event that steps off at 10:30AM on Mon., May 29. For more than eight decades, the Naperville Memorial Day Parade has been a time to show proper respect for the ultimate sacrifices given by the brave men and women and their families who honorably served to protect our freedom.
The parade features rousing patriotic music by the Naperville Municipal Band as well as high school, junior high school and middle school marching bands in addition to red, white and blue entries recognizing service of Veterans and active duty military personnel. The tradition attracts thousands of appreciative spectators along the parade route and during the annual Memorial Day observance that follows in Central Park at noon.
For details about participating in the Naperville Memorial Day Parade, visit a story posted on this Positively Naperville website OR go directly to register at www.napervillememorialdayparade.org. The deadline to enter always is May 1.
Thank you for our freedom… Words to music make a difference, too…
Just as this post was about to go live online on National Marching Band Day on March 4, 2023, a friend sent the following 3-minute song with poignant words and images that remind everyone in this nation to be grateful for our freedom. Instead of saying “Thank You for your service,” the Veteran asks individuals to share the video below and to educate others to say “Thank You For Our Freedom.” Read about the proposed resolution online at the Library of Congress website.
And did you know? Recent polls taken in February 2023 at the National Opinion Research Center indicate about one in three individuals cannot name a single right protected by the First Amendment—not freedom of religion, not free speech, not freedom of assembly, not freedom of the press, not right to petition for grievances—not a single one. And a staggering number has not read the U.S. Constitution, a document that takes about one hour to read; rules of law that take a lifetime to study and appreciate. Is it important for Americans to know their rights of freedom?
