The community will gather Saturday to honor and remember those who died serving in the nation’s armed forces.

The annual Coupeville Memorial Day Parade will begin at 11 a.m. on Terry Road and end at Coupeville Town Park.

The parade has been running annually for at least 28 years, said Lynda Eccles, executive director of the Coupeville Chamber of Commerce. But there’s historical documentation showing the event has happened even before that, just maybe not in consecutive years.

“I love parades,” she said. “I think they’re a tradition that shouldn’t ever go away.”

This year, there are 50 entries already registered including classic car groups, the high school band and the Naval Sea Cadet Corp., which features 35 youth ages 10 to 17 in a marching unit and color guard.

Eccles said an estimated 30 veterans will be in the parade, including Grand Marshal Spence Purvis.

Purvis is 98 1/2 years old and a WWII veteran who stormed the beaches at Normandy.

He is a longtime Whidbey Island resident and a Coupeville Lion.

Other entries in the parade include the Gifts From the Heart food bank’s precision drill team.

At the conclusion of the parade, a remembrance ceremony will be held at Coupeville Town Park with two new speakers this year — newly elected Coupeville Mayor Molly Hughes and Capt. Geoffrey Moore, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island’s new commanding officer.

After the ceremony, at about 12:30 p.m., the Central Whidbey Lions will grill up hot dogs for free while supplies last.

“It’s such a community event and it supports our armed forces,” Eccles said. “It’s a Whidbey Island event, but it’s very special to our community.”