The 28th annual Las Cruces Veterans Day Parade will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 11, in downtown Las Cruces, the City of Las cruces said in a news release.
The parade will form at the corner of Main Street and Lohman Avenue, travel north on Main Street to the roundabout near City Hall and continue south on Water Street back to the staging area.
The theme for this year’s parade is “Honoring Desert Storm Veterans.”
The parade review stand will be at the intersection of Main Street and Las Cruces Avenue. This is where the presentation of medals to the parade’s grand marshals will occur.
Opening ceremonies are scheduled for 10:30 a.m. at the parade review stand. This is where a cannon will be fired to mark the start of the parade, the city said.
To accommodate the parade, Main Street, as well as streets that feed into the parade route will begin closing at 6 a.m. Nov. 11, the news release said. Parking will be available at the parking lot just south of El Paso Electric, the Doña Ana County Judicial Complex, Thomas Branigan Memorial Library, City Hall and several parking lots on the East side of the downtown area, between Main and Church streets.
The Las Cruces Veterans Day Parade website (www.lascrucesvetday.org) listed 69 parade entries in October, with the Las Cruces Police Department leading and concluding the order of march. Other parade participants will include parade grand marshals Marine Corps league Chapter 478 El Perro Diablo; local VFW, American Legion, DAV, Mesilla Valley Chapter 2004 Military Order of the Purple Heart, the 2023 Veterans Parade poster contest winner; Military Officers Association of America; Las Cruces Special Forces Association Chapter 80; Honor Flight of Southern New Mexico and El Paso; Vietnam veterans; Military Rescue Ram Club; United Military Women of the Southwest; NMSU Army and Air Force ROTC; Remember Bataan Foundation; other military veterans; ROTC, bands, sports teams and other Las Cruces Public Schools and Gadsden Independent School District school organizations; the Las Cruces Fire Department; other local law enforcement agencies; Scout troops; car and motorcycle clubs; nonprofits; and others.
Veterans Day Parade
Two months ago, Bill Hawkins, Director of the Veterans Day Parade called a meeting of the Veterans Day Parade committee to start planning for the 2023 Veterans Parade. The date, time, route and location of the Reviewing Stand was agreed on by the committee members and are as follows: Veterans Day Parade: Saturday, Nov. 11, at 11 a.m. The Reviewing Stand will be located on the corner of Main Street and Las Cruces Avenue, this is where Mayor Ken Miyagishima will announce the start of the parade after a short ceremony starting at 10:30 a.m.
The theme? Honoring Desert Storm Veterans. The Veterans Memorial Wall at Veterans Park, 2651 Roadrunner Parkway, has the names of 479 Doña Ana County veterans who served in this conflict.
On Nov. 11, the parade participants will report at 9 a.m. to the staging area on the corner of Main Street and Lohman Ave. The parade starts at 11 a.m. and will travel north down Main Street to the traffic circle, west to Water Street, south, back to the staging area.
To register to participate in the parade, contact Bill Hawkins at 575-621-7002 or wchawkins1962@gmail.com.
