Memorial Day events planned around south Washington County

• Lance Ward cartoon for Memorial Day

Bulletin cartoon by Lance Ward

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Area residents, including military veterans and their families, have a number of opportunities to mark the Memorial Day holiday on Monday, May 30. Here are some of the events planned in the east metro area.

South Washington County

Events in and around Cottage Grove, Newport and St. Paul Park will occur throughout the morning Monday. Activities begin with a breakfast at 7 a.m. at the Cottage Grove VFW Post 8752 Red Barn, 9260 East Point Douglas Road.

There are commemorations planned at 10 sites. The public can attend individual ceremonies or ride a bus to all of the events. The bus leaves after breakfast at the Cottage Grove VFW.

The schedule includes:

-- 8 a.m. Grey Cloud Island Township Cemetery

-- 8:30 a.m. Mississippi River

-- 9 a.m. Atkinson Cemetery

-- 9:25 a.m. St. Thomas Aquinas Cemetery

-- 9:50 a.m. A break at American Legion Post 98 in St. Paul Park

-- 10:30 a.m. Veterans Park in St. Paul Park

-- Newport Cemetery, 10:45 a.m.

-- 11 a.m. Red Rock Cemetery

-- 11:30 a.m. Old Cottage Grove Cemetery

-- Noon Basswood Cemetery in Denmark Township

-- 12:25 p.m. Levitt Cemetery

Hastings

The Hastings community will honor veterans at four events, sponsored by the Lyle Russell VFW Post 1210 and Nelson Lucking American Legion Post 47 of Hastings, and their auxiliaries.

The observance begins at 9 a.m. at the Minnesota Veterans Home in Hastings. About 20 minutes after the program concludes, the observance moves to Roadside Park. Shorter ceremonies will be held at Soldiers and Sailors Cemetery and at the Levee Veterans Memorial along the Mississippi River. The Memorial Day speaker this year will be City Administrator Dave Osberg. He will speak at Roadside Park.

Woodbury

In Woodbury, the Lions Club will host a celebration beginning at 11 a.m. at the Woodbury Veterans’ Memorial located near Woodbury City Hall, 8301 Valley Creek Road. The ceremony will include a time of remembrance and prayer for military veterans. The father of a Woodbury soldier killed in Iraq will be featured at the Woodbury event. Ken Drevnick, whose son Dan died two years ago while serving with the 34th Military Police Red Bulls, will read a poem to honor his son and other soldiers.

Elsewhere

-- A parade is part of the commemoration in Bayport, south of Stillwater. Line-up for the parade is at 8 a.m. and the route is along Highway 95 between Central Avenue and First Avenue to the cemetery. A program follows.

-- Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis will hold its annual Memorial Day service beginning at 10 a.m.

n Matthew Griswold, a Woodbury native and singer, is an Iraq War veteran who will perform at the third annual Veterans Aid concert to be held from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Fine Line Music Café in Minneapolis. This year’s concert is titled “Bring Them All the Way Home.” “Some of these men and women returning home aren’t always in the same condition that they were in when they left,” Griswold said. Tickets are $10 for the concert, which is also a fundraiser for the Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans.

-- After Memorial Day, the public can get a close-up look at old military aircraft at a St. Paul event. The St. Paul Downtown Airport/Holman Field will host the Liberty Foundation’s 2011 Salute to Veterans tour June 4-5. The event will feature a Boeing B-17 bomber and a Curtiss P-40E “Warhawk” fighter plane. For more information, call (918) 340-0243.

Tags: washington county, updates, entertainment