Anne Schrager May 23, 2021
NASA special projects manager and retired Army Sgt. James Schwab lays a wreath at last year’s Memorial Day ceremony at the San Francisco National Cemetery. Photo: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle 2020
Celebrated on the last Monday in May (this year, May 31) Memorial Day arrives with outdoor services and presentations to honor American soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. To mark the occasion, Bay Area organizations plan to host wreath-laying ceremonies, cemetery-side memorial services and more events to attend in person or to view online.
Along with the solemnity of the federal holiday, the three-day weekend in late spring is also full of opportunities to relax and enjoy as summer approaches.
Anne Schrager March 8, 2021Updated: March 18, 2021, 7:16 am
Members of the Irish Pipers Band of San Francisco practice before the start of the 166th annual San Francisco St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 11, 2017. Photo: Mason Trinca, Special to The Chronicle
It was one year ago this month that the pandemic kicked off a series of event cancellations that effectively brought the Bay Area’s entertainment scene to a halt. This included the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade and the music, dancing and other green-beer-fueled activities that normally surround it.
While these crowded events are still on hold, or reconfigured for a now familiar virtual setting, we do have a little luck of the Irish on our side as we prepare to celebrate the holiday on Wednesday, March 17. With vaccine rollout on the rise and COVID case numbers trending downward, spring is just around the corner, and many new city parklets are ready to host an impromptu outdoor bar crawl or two.