Memorial Day Parade returns to the west side of South Bend

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- After four years away, the West Side Memorial Day Parade returned on Monday for its 97th year.

The parade had not been held since 2019 due to a combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and a lack of volunteers. 

This year's parade featured around 70 entries, with everything from dancing floats to marching bands, iconic cars and more.

Both active and retired veterans and police officers also participated in the 1.7-mile long parade, which started at the intersection of Lombardy and Ford Street.

Ford Street has been temporarily renamed for the festivities to Memorial Day Drive thanks to the parade committee, a volunteer group that ensures the parade goes smoothly.

"It's a group of about five or six of us to pull together all the logistics of the parade to make sure that it goes smoothly, and the community can enjoy a great day," said Entries Director Jenn Nyikos. 

According to the Parade Marshall, Katie Reaves, the parade takes around 10-12 dedicated volunteers and several months of planning to get the parade off the ground, and that the committee will happily take on volunteers for next year. 

Even though the city approved the parade to continue on in 2022, not enough volunteers came out to help, something Reaves attributes to the toll that COVID-19 took on local businesses.

"We had a lot more volunteers that did a lot of hard work. However, a lot of clubs and organizations just aren't around anymore. COVID really devastated a lot of businesses, a lot of organizations, and some people are still a little iffy to get out and that was one of the things that effected the numbers." said Reaves.

The parade officially began at 8:15 a.m. Monday morning, and lasted around 45 minutes.

While one goal of the parade was to gather the community together, the ultimate objective was to honor and remember those who have served and died for their country.