Memorial Day Ceremony: America's 250th

The 2025 Memorial Day Ceremony will be held on May 24th @ Noon on the Plaza grounds.

Every Memorial Day weekend, the Plaza hosts its largest event of the year, bringing in thousands of people from all over Northern Colorado. This event is free to the public and lasts all Memorial Day Weekend. Other local northern Colorado veteran-serving organizations contribute to the day by setting up booths and offering services on the Plaza grounds. In addition to the displays, a "Victory Garden" ceremony takes place yearly where soils from battlefields and places of remembrance from around the world are brought here and placed in the garden by a veteran.

Our keynote speaker this year is West Point graduate Tom Hand, an author, historian, and the founder of Americana Corner, a multimedia platform dedicated to sharing the story of America's founding and its first century. Following his graduation from West Point in 1982, Hand served as an Army officer at Fort Bragg (now Fort Liberty) from 1983 to 1986 before transitioning to a successful career in the private sector.

Hand serves on the Board of Trustees for the "American Battlefield Trust" and the "National Council for the National Park Foundation," and continues to be an active advocate for preserving the "Great American Story." As evidenced by his authorship of  "An American Triumph: America’s Founding Era through the Lives of Ben Franklin, George Washington, and John Adams and America Victorious," a biographical non-fiction that makes the American Revolution and early republic accessible and inspiring to a broad audience.

After nearly three decades in business—including 25 years leading the Gilman Cheese Corporation, which he grew into a premier industry manufacturer--Hand turned his focus to historical preservation and education. In 2020, he launched Americana Corner to provide "positive messages of America’s incredible founding" through weekly articles and videos, and also founded "Preserving America," a philanthropic grant program that has awarded over 200 grants to museums, battlefields, and historical sites across 36 states. 

The main ceremony takes place on May 24th at Noon.
Don't miss it! 

Event Includes:

• America's War for Independence Exhibit - Liberty 250 
• Keynote Speaker: Tom Hand - Author, Historian, and Founder of "Americana Corner"
• Historical Flag Displays
• Missing Man Table and Honors Ceremony
• Battlefield Soil Ceremony
• 21 Gun Salute
• Military Equipment & Vehicle Displays
• Rotary's Field of Flags Display
• And Booths from over 30 Local Vetearn-serving organizations