Yorktown Day Parade & Patriotic Exercises – Thursday, October 19, 2023
Yorktown Day Parade & Patriotic Exercises – Thursday, October 19, 2023
The modern-day observance of Yorktown Day traces its roots to 1922, when the Daughters of the American Revolution began an annual wreath-laying ceremony, which set the tradition upon which the current Yorktown Day is based. Today, Yorktown Day commemorative events are co-sponsored by the Yorktown Day Association, comprised of 13 civic, patriotic and government organizations, and the National Park Service, Colonial National Historical Park.
10:30 am: The official Yorktown Day Parade will begin at 10:30 a.m. The route will follow Yorktown’s Main Street and pass in front of the Monument to Alliance and Victory, erected in 1881 to commemorate the military victory a century before. Included in the 35 parade units are representatives of all branches of the U.S. military, fife and drum corps – including The U.S. Army Old Guard Fife & Drum Corps – JROTC and NJROTC units, and patriotic organizations. This year’s parade is sponsored by the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation and Colonial National Historical Park.
11 am: Colonial National Historical Park wreath-laying ceremonies at the Monument to Alliance and Victory will honor British, French and Canadian forces in memory of those who fought and died during the siege of Yorktown in 1781.
11:15 am: Patriotic exercises will commence at the Monument to Alliance and Victory at 11:15 a.m. with the annual pageant of flags, a colorful display that includes the American and French national colors, the flags of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, and the flags of the 13 Yorktown Day Association members.
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