REGIONAL – The communities of Cape Elizabeth, Scarborough and South Portland will celebrate Memorial Day, May 25, with parades and other special events.

• Cape Elizabeth

A parade begins at 9 a.m. and runs from the corner of Fowler and Ocean House roads to the War Veteran’s Memorial on Scott Dyer Road. This year’s grand marshal is Sgt. Tiana Schneider, a veteran of the Iraq War and a 2003 graduate of Cape Elizabeth High School.

The parade will conclude with a brief ceremony at the monument and then residents and guests are invited to attend an open house at the fire station.

• Scarborough

A parade begins at 10 a.m. and runs from the corner of Routes 114 and 1 in Oak Hill to the Maine Veterans Home, located at 290 Route 1. The event concludes with a ceremony at the American Legion monument and a special performance by the Kora Temple Highlanders.

The parade will be followed by an open house at the Libby-Mitchell American Legion Post No. 76, located at 42 Manson Libby Road.

Pre-parade activities include stops at all of the town’s cemeteries, as well as a brief ceremony in Memorial Park at 9:15 a.m. Cemetery schedule is as follows: 8 a.m. at Black Point Cemetery; 8:30 a.m. at Dunstan Soldiers Monument; 8:45 a.m. at Dunstan Cemetery; and 9 a.m. at Blue Point Cemetery.

• South Portland

The South Portland War Veteran’s Memorial Association will gather at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 23, at VFW Post 832, located at 50 Peary Terrace, and caravan to the city’s five cemeteries to place flags on the graves of veterans. Volunteers are welcome.

Then on Monday, May 25, the city will celebrate with a Memorial Day Parade. In addition, a special outdoor mass will be held at Cavalry Cemetery, located at 1461 Broadway.

Bishop Robert Deeley from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland will celebrate the special Memorial Day Mass 9 a.m. The Mass will be in the Armed Forces section of the new cemetery. In the event of rain, the mass will be moved to St. Maximilian Kolbe Church in Scarborough.

“Memorial Day is a time to remember those who kept the faith and died in service to our country,” Deeley said in a press release. “It is our duty as Americans to praise their sacrifice, to bless their memories, to pray for their eternal repose and to thank God for the freedom they preserve for us.”

The Memorial Day parade steps off at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, May 25, from the parking lot at Southern Maine Community College. The procession will march down Broadway to the Veteran’s Memorial Monument in Mill Creek Park, where there will be a short ceremony.

In addition, at noon there will be a wreath-laying ceremony at the public boat landing at Bug Light.

Communities celebrate Memorial Day with special events