Big day for vets Saturday
For more than 30 years, the town of Coupeville has held a parade to honor veterans on Memorial Day weekend.
This year’s parade and remembrance ceremony takes place Saturday, May 24, beginning at 11 a.m.
Lisa Susan, executive director for the Central Whidbey Chamber of Commerce, said there are approximately 90 entries in this year’s parade ranging from community groups and veterans organizations to modern and vintage fire trucks.
Following the parade, there will be a ceremony at the town park. Scheduled to speak during the event is Capt. Garral David, commanding officer at the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, and Cmdr. Joseph DiGuardo, Jr., who is commanding officer for Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit 11 at the base. Six members of that unit have been killed in Iraq.
“We thought it would be a nice way to honor that unit,” Susan said.
Dr. William McDaniel is also scheduled to speak. He is an Oak Harbor resident and a retired rear admiral.
Navy Band Northwest is slated to march in the parade and then perform at the park.
Parade participants will stage at Coupeville Elementary School before making the trek down North Main Street.
Susan said the intersection of Highway 20 and Main Street will close while the parade crosses. Traffic can detour around the parade by using Terry Road.
Book sale
follows parade
Studies have shown that the best way to sate one’s literary appetite is by perusing the Memorial Day Book Sale Saturday, May 24, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Coupeville Recreation Hall.
Follow the Memorial Day parade by browsing and purchasing an eye-popping selection of new and gently-used books. Fiction, nonfiction, science fiction, children’s fiction, there is something for everybody. For the more visually-minded perusers, grab a picture book and have at it.
A crew of Central Whidbey Lions Club members recently built a new shed to house the Friends of the Coupeville Library books donated for the book sale. Well, the books have piled up and, although roomier than the last structure, the shed would like to bring in the summer with some breathing room. That’s where the community comes in.
Proceeds from the all ages book sale benefit the Coupeville Library.
