Welcome to Tri-Cities Central, a twice-weekly newsletter highlighting local happenings in Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles and surrounding communities.
Get yours: subscribe here. Refer a friend: share this link.
📸 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, flags of honor tribute, and special memorial service. Get the details.
Community Breakfast | Baker Memorial Church | St. Charles | The St. Charles VFW serves its annual community breakfast with a $5 plate (free for veterans, Scouts, emergency services, and kids under 3) and proceeds supporting its Veterans Relief Fund. 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.
Pancake Breakfast | United Methodist Church of Geneva | Enjoy breakfast and support local charities. Get the details.
Herring Breakfast + Memorial Day Ceremony | Batavia VFW | The annual Scandinavian breakfast is held at 645 S. River Street and followed by a ceremony that has historically featured a band performance, wreath-laying, POW/MIA tribute, and rifle salute. Get the details.
Road closures will be in effect in Geneva throughout the weekend for both the Youth Triathlon and Memorial Day Parade events.
If you’re looking for a kid-centric holiday activity, there’s a Stroller Social family picnic at Delnor Woods Park in St. Charles with bubbles, music, playground time, and a pavilion where families can gather.
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
Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] with questions or comments.
Not signed up yet? Subscribe here.