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- Celebrating Memorial Day is an important tradition in the Tri-Cities
Celebrating Memorial Day is an important tradition in the Tri-Cities
See what's happening in Batavia, Geneva and St. Charles for Memorial Day 2025 and learn about parades and similar traditions from past holidays.
Sam Kraft
May 20, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes
Welcome to Tri-Cities Central, a twice-weekly newsletter highlighting local happenings in Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles and surrounding communities.
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📸 Credit: City of St. Charles
Originally established to honor those who died in military service, Memorial Day is a time for remembrance — and a chance to come together as a community.
If you’re still undecided on how you’ll spend Monday’s holiday, below you’ll find several ideas:
Memorial Day Parade & Ceremonies | Downtown St. Charles | A flag-raising ceremony, breakfast fundraiser, parade and special memorial service. Get the details.
Pancake Breakfast | United Methodist Church of Geneva | Enjoy breakfast and support local charities. Get the details.
Memorial Day Parade & Activities | Downtown Geneva | American Legion Post 75 has organized a Rifle Salute, parade and memorial service featuring speakers and music. Get the details.
Herring Breakfast | Batavia VFW | The annual Scandinavian breakast is hosted by Batavia Vikings Ring Lodge 18 at the Batavia VFW. Get the details.
Memorial Day Ceremony | Batavia VFW | Starts at 11AM at VFW Post 1197, (645 S. River St.) and features the Batavia Community Band, wreath-laying, POW/MIA tribute, and rifle salute.
March of Honor: In what organizers hope becomes a new tradition, community members are invited to walk together with American flags in tribute to over 1,300 local veterans during this year’s Memorial Day Parade in St. Charles.
See events happening in other Kane County communities.
Local Memorial Day history
The Tri-Cities have been commemorating Memorial Day with parades and special events for more than a century.
📸 Credit: Photo from a 1952 issue of the Batavia Herald.
As far as I can gather, Geneva has held a parade since at least 1903; St. Charles’ parade tradition started no later than 1906; and an annual Batavia parade was documented as early as 1910.
The most recent record I could find of a Batavia Memorial Day parade was in 1969; the parade seems to have been discontinued ever since.
I'd be curious to learn if anyone knows why the city stopped holding the parade (shoot me a note if so).
In addition to the events listed above, the Kane County Veterans Memorial (located at 719 S Batavia Ave. in Geneva near the Kane County Government Center) is worth a visit if you’ve never been.
📖 Thanks for reading
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