21-05-2025
Honolulu to hold 74th Mayor's Memorial Day Ceremony
HONOLULU (KHON2) — The City and County of Honolulu, in collaboration with the national Department of Veterans Affairs, are holding the 74th Mayor's Memorial Day Ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Pūowaina on May 26.
The event is open and free for the public and will begin right at 8:30 a.m. The city said the event will feature ceremonial presentations and tributes, such as comments from Mayor Rick Blangiardi and Admiral Samuel Paparo, as well as color guard, military flyovers and much more.
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The Royal Hawaiian Band and Sounds of Aloha will also be in attendance, joined by the 96th Lei Court who will be performing hula.
'On this Memorial Day, we stand united in gratitude, honoring the brave men and women who gave everything for the freedoms we hold most dear,' Blangiardi said. 'Their sacrifices echo through time, reminding us of the immense price of liberty and the strength of their resolve. As we pause to remember, let us renew our pledge to uphold the values they fought to defend, cherishing the peace they secured. May their legacy live on in our actions, and may we always strive to build a world worthy of their courage and devotion.'
The ceremony will be broadcast on ʻŌlelo Channel 49 and will re-air on the same channel throughout the next at the cemetery will be extremely limited, but Abraham Lincoln Elementary and Robert Louis Stevenson Middle Schools will provide parking for the public beginning at 7 a.m.
A courtesy shuttle between the schools and the ceremony will be available.
Parking for the ceremony is also available at the Civic Center Parking Structure, with TheBus running between the structure and the ceremony throughout the morning. Bus fairs will apply.
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The city also said that sun protection and drinking water are recommended to bring for all visitors, given the limited covered seating available. They also ask that the guests do not bring their own chairs unless medically required, as well as refraining from bringing pets that are not service animals.
Recent graduates and their families are also encouraged to donate their fresh flower or ti-leaf lei to lei-sewing locations or drop-off sites such as city fire stations and at the Department of Parks and Recreation.
There are also several locations throughout the island where members of the public can sew lei. For more information about lei making or the Memorial Day celebrations, visit the mayor's Memorial Day website.
'We are looking to gather 38,000 lei; so, we can adorn every single gravesite here at punchbowl with a lei as well as a flag,' said Ted Hayden of the Department of Parks and Recreation.
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