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Rapid River celebrates Memorial Day

RAPID RIVER — The Rapid River Memorial Day Celebration will take place once again this Memorial Day, May 29. Gail Zierk, the chairperson of the committee which organizes this event, said it has been a local tradition for decades.

“It’s been going on for 45 years,” she said.

Each year’s Rapid River Memorial Day Celebration has a theme, Zierk said. This year’s theme is “Standing United… Freedom for All.”

According to Zierk, this theme was chosen to honor veterans for defending equality.

“We thought that would be an applicable one for this year,” she said.

At the heart of the Rapid River Memorial Day Celebration is the annual parade down Main Street.

“We’re the first parade of the season,” Zierk said.

According to Zierk, this parade is always heavily attended.

“There’s over 2,000 people that come to this parade every year,” she said.

The parade line-up will take place at noon in front of the Omni Center on North Main Street, and the parade will begin at 1 p.m. A flag-raising ceremony will take place on South Main Street at noon, the Rapid River Memorial Day Queen will be crowned at 12:05 p.m., and the grand marshal for the parade will be selected at 12:45 p.m.

Before the parade, memorial services will be held at cemeteries in the area by members of American Legion Post 301. These services will be held at Ogontz at 8 a.m., at Moss Lake at 8:30 a.m., at Nahma at 9:15 a.m., at Stonington at 10 a.m., and at Rapid River at 11 a.m.

The parade will also be preceded by the annual Run for Joe, a 5K run/walk held in honor of Cpl. Joseph Micks. Race registration will start at 7 a.m., and the race will begin at 9 a.m. The cost to enter in the run is $20 per person or $15 for each runner registered in a family of three or more. Upper Peninsula Road Runners Club (UPPRC) members receive a $2 discount on their race registration.

For more information about the Run for Joe visit www.friendsofjoe.org.

Starting at 10 a.m., several activities will take place in the township park. These will include bounce houses, paintball, a petting zoo, a karaoke contest, a raffle, and food and refreshments.

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