Memorial Day weekend in Blount blending remembrance, summer activities

This Memorial Day weekend offers Blount Countians a chance to recognize sacrifice and mark a start to the summer.

Those possibilities and the way the holiday is often celebrated offer a study in contrasts — family gatherings, travel and warm days free from work come at the same time as recognition of military members who were killed or died in action.

Events happening in Blount County include programs organized by veterans’ groups as well as traditional summer travel and activities.

Memorial

At 10 a.m. Saturday, May 25, in a church on East Lamar Alexander Parkway, a group will gather to remember.

RIO Revolution in Maryville will start the weekend by hosting a group of veterans’ organizations. United Veterans of Blount County has planned a ceremony honoring members of the military who fell in action. Participants in the program — now in its 59th year — will also read off a list of service members who have died in the past 12 months.

Blount Director of Veterans Affairs Nathan Weinbaum told The Daily Times that the planning for the Memorial Day program is extensive. There will be Gold Star family members — the relatives of service members killed in action — in attendance Saturday, Weinbaum said. JROTC cadets will also participate.

“That’s part of what makes this so special,” he said in a Friday phone interview. It’s a somber occasion, but an important one, he noted. “The focus is on those that were killed in action or died in service.”

Their sacrifice, he said, “is the reason we have our freedom.”

Summer begins

And throughout the weekend, people across the U.S. will also gather and celebrate, among other things: an unofficial start to the summer, time with family and (for some) an extra day away from work.

In East Tennessee, Great Smoky Mountains National Park staff anticipate “high visitation” during Memorial Day weekend. In a press release Park representatives advised those planning a trip to consider parking shuttles and check for closures ahead of time.

This Memorial Day will likely be a warm one. According to the National Weather Service, highs from Saturday to Monday in the Alcoa area are in the mid- to upper-eighties, with a mix of sun, rain and thunderstorms also likely. If the weather is clear, Blount Countians can take advantage of public pool openings: Springbrook Pool in Alcoa will open for the season Saturday, May 25, while the John Sevier Pool opened May 17.

A busy, celebratory weekend will also mean a heavier police presence in some areas. The Tennessee Highway Patrol announced Friday, May 24, that patrols — encompassing, among other things, sobriety checkpoints — would increase from Friday at 6 p.m. until 5:59 a.m. Tuesday.