The Las Cruces Veterans Day Parade continues to be a huge success on Main Street in Downtown Las Cruces. This year, the parade takes place at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9. The parade will stage on the corner of Main Street and Lohman Avenue, travel north on Main Street to the roundabout, and continue south on Water Street back to the staging area.
The first 23 years of the parade, no theme had been designated. Last year, for the first time, the theme, “A Salute to Women Veterans” was selected. This year, the parade committee chose “Honoring our Greatest Generation” as the theme, coinciding with the 75th Anniversary of the Normandy Invasion.
A reviewing stand will be on Main Street in front of the Moose Lodge. This is where the presentation of medals to the Grand Marshals will occur. Opening ceremonies will be at 10:30 a.m. at the reviewing stand. Folks with sensitive hearing should be aware that this will also be the area where a cannon is fired to mark the start of the parade.
Main Street will be closed early because of the already occurring Las Cruces Farmers and Crafts Market. Streets that feed into the parade route will begin closing at 8:30 a.m. Parking will be available at the El Paso Electric Parking Lot, Doña Ana County Judicial Complex, Thomas Branigan Memorial Library and several parking lots on the east side of the downtown area, between Main and Church streets.
Congratulations go to to Evanee Stockman, an eighth-grade student at Picacho Middle School. She was the winner of the 2019 Veterans Day Parade art poster. As the winner, she will be participating in the parade and has received a small monetary award and a framed copy of the City of Las Cruces poster containing her design.
For information about the Las Cruces Veterans Day Parade, the committee, or are interested in volunteering, visit www.lascrucesvetday.org.