Memorial Day Parade 2015: Families & Flips, Bands & Brothers
Members of the WPD Color Guard and local Scouts at the head of Warwick’s Memorial Day Parade May 25.
Kevin Murphy, Rosalie Passarelli and James Welsh , members of the Pilgrim High School Band, wait for the start of Warwick’s Memorial Day Parade May 25.
From left, Girl Scouts Katherine Baxter (Troop 233), Emma Spolidoro (Troop 232) and Sloan Hogan (Troop 250) wait for the Warwick Memorial Day Parade to start May 25.
From left, Daisy Troop members Madelyn Iozzi and Gabby Majeski wait at the start of the Warwick Memorial Day Parade May 25.
From left, Troop 18 Girl Scouts Marisa Martini, Ana Brennan and Michelle Maron at the start of Warwick’s Memorial Day Parade May 25.
From left, City Council members, including Council President Donna Travis, and Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian at the start of Warwick’s Memorial Day Parade May 25.
Members of the Warwick Police Department ride in the Warwick Memorial Day Parade.
Bentley Lytle, in a toy police cruiser, watches Warwick’s Memorial Day Parade May 25 with Alan Lytle.
Joshua and Susan Lavoie watch their daughter, Ryan march with the Warwick Vets High School Band with their daughters Joey and Kyle during the 2015 Memorial Day Parade.
Alison and Kristy Patten watch Warwick’s Memorial Day Parade May 25.
Joe King, with his sons Parker and Colin, and Hayley Catania, watch the Warwick Fire Department drive by in the Warwick Memorial Day Parade May 25.
Joe King, with his sons Parker and Colin, watch a TF Green Airport plow drive by in the Warwick Memorial Day Parade May 25.
Logan Nelson with the Providence Turners gymnastics club gets ready for a flip at the Warwick Memorial Day Parade May 25.
Logan Nelson with the Providence Turners gymnastics club performs a flip at the Warwick Memorial Day Parade May 25.
Logan Nelson with the Providence Turners gymnastics club finishes a flip at the Warwick Memorial Day Parade May 25.
Members of the Providence Turners flip down the street during the Warwick Memorial Day Parade May 25.
Members of Troop 183 wait for the Warwick Memorial Day Parade to start May 25.
Members of American Legion Shields Post on their restored “40 & 8” truck during the Warwick Memorial Day Parade May 25.
Warwick, RI – Families lined Warwick Avenue and West Shore Road Monday morning to see a community-spanning collection of visual and musical treats in the city’s Memorial Day Parade.
Chuck and Jake Holm waited on Oakland Beach Avenue alongside the American Legion Shields Post 43’s recently restored vintage “40 & 8″ truck, waiting to bring up the rear of the parade.
Members of American Legion Shields Post ride in the Memorial Day Parade March 25 on their recently restored vintage “40 & 8″ truck.
Chuck found the replica “40 & 8″ truck, named because it could carry 40 horses and 8 men in Paris in World War I in Paris, on a farm in Coventry. The truck had once belonged to American Legion Post 2 in West Warwick, but had fallen into disrepair.
“We didn’t want to see it go to the grave yard,” Jake said, so the Legion raised about $5,000 to restore it. They finished the job in time for this year’s parade, he said.
Across the street, in the back lot of Bishop Hendricken School, the balance of the parade divisions waited.
Parade organizer Tony Rodrigues and Parade Grand Marshal Christine A. Kelley prepare for the start of the Memorial Day Parade May 25.
Following between the WPD and the Legion were a wide array of Boy Scout and Girl Scout Troops, high school bands, classic cars and a gigantic snow plow form T.F. Green Airport.
Members of the Providence Turners Gymnastics Team Flip past spectators during Warwick’s Memorial Day Parade.
Families sat along Oakland Beach Avenue and West Shore Road, waving from lawn chairs, blankets and the backs of trucks as the parade marched and rolled past. Children caught or scooped up candy thrown from the trucks, marvelled at the fire trucks and cars, and applauded as gymnasts flipped past.
Rob has worked as reporter and editor for several publications, including The Kent County Daily Times and Coventry Courier, before working for Gatehouse in MA then moving home with Patch Media. Now he's publisher and editor of WarwickPost.com. Contact him at editor@warwickpost.com with tips, press releases, advertising inquiries, and concerns.
