by Greg Mengarelli, Mayor, City of Prescott
‘Tis the season to honor our vets and delight in our holiday festivals
As the colors of the leaves begin to change and fall all around Prescott, we begin feeling the holiday season coming on quickly.
The holiday and patriotic spirit of this beautiful community are strong and our pride in being “Everybody’s Hometown” will become even stronger this autumn as we celebrate that very name with the “Everybody’s Hometown Festival” block party on Oct. 19th in downtown Prescott. This celebration comes just weeks before children and their families fill the streets of our historic Mt. Vernon neighborhood and attend a myriad of other celebrations dressed in their best costumes and brimming with laughter as Halloween kicks off the holidays here in Prescott.
Following the jubilation of Halloween celebrations, we will once again honor our community’s veterans on Nov. 11th. Each year, we have the opportunity to pause and reflect on the freedoms and privileges we have been afforded by the brave men and women who have served our country through the years.
Originally named Armistice Day, commemorating the end of World War I when the treaty was signed on the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month in 1918. Now Veterans Day pays tribute to all American veterans and is a time to give thanks and recognize living veterans who served their country honorably during war and peacetime.
I’ve long been proud of the immense patriotism in our community, how powerfully we all come together to pay tribute to our veterans and active-duty service members alike. This was reflected in Prescott being named “Most Patriotic City in Arizona” in 2018. The annual Veterans Day Parade is where this patriotism comes together for all to see and share.
This year, the Veterans Day Parade will be held on Monday, Nov. 11th. Opening ceremonies will begin at 10:30 a.m. on the main stage at Cortez Street and Union Street, and the parade will begin promptly at 11 a.m. The parade begins at the corner of Cortez Street and Willis and heads south on Cortez to Goodwin Street, west on Goodwin to Montezuma and then north on Montezuma to Sheldon Street.
We invite everyone to join in honoring our veterans and enjoying the celebration of all participants in this year’s parade. We anticipate at least 80 entries for this year’s parade to represent every branch of the military, plus organizations like the American Legion, VFW, Eagles and other supportive veteran groups, with a special tribute to Korean War Veterans. We thank our own Michelle Stacy-Schroeder, Recreation Services Manager, who is a veteran herself, for all her work with Prescott-area partners to put this event together each year.
Our time of reflection on Veterans Day also provides the gateway into a beautiful holiday season here in Prescott, “Arizona’s Christmas City.” Nothing symbolizes our community and its festive spirit more than the many events that take place this time of year with no shortage of opportunities for everyone to come together and celebrate the holiday season.
These include the Prescott Chamber Christmas Parade, the Holiday Light Parade, Christmas Courthouse Lighting and of course Acker Night Musical Showcase. It always brings me joy to see the happy and giving spirit of our community during the holidays as we celebrate the season.
It’s almost impossible to walk through the downtown streets and not be full of wonder and delight as we take in the lights and sounds of the holiday season. I look forward to seeing the many faces of our community during this wonderful time of the year.
