SeeCalifornia.com

Memorial Day remembrances are usually solemn cemetery events where you better bring a hankie cause if you don’t shed a tear, someone else nearby will. There are plenty of those celebrations here in California, where nine national cemeteries and countless graveyards and public plazas play host to moments of silence, speeches and taps, for patriotic souls who have passed.

The Lighter Side Memorials!

Gin Blossoms, Shrimp Eating Contest, 3000 Carnations Air-dropped and an Earthquake Simulator!

• SAN PEDRO: At Battleship USS Iowa the Bay Area world-champ of food gouging, Joey Chestnut, joins other big league eaters in a new Shrimp Eating Contest. BBQ & Beer, plus a radio station broadcast go on all day.
• SAN DIEGO: At USS Midway Legacy Week the Gin Blossoms perform in a special (ticket required) concert, and you can meet veteran pilots stationed next to the planes they flew.
• PALM SPRINGS: At Palm Springs Air Museum the annual fly-by and 3,000 red & white carnations flower drop from a B-25 Mitchell bomber is a sight to behold.
• DANA POINT: Overlooking the ocean and beach at Pines Park, listen to TAPS played by that master of the trumpet, David Longoria. You’ll be jazzed.
• POINT REYES: At Point Reyes Seashore pay homage to surfmen who protected America’s coast.
• ALAMEDA: Go on board USS Hornet for moving tributes and performances by the Hornet Band.
• HILLSBOROUGH: Memorial Day remembrances include a parade, carnival and music festival, plus an earthquake simulator!
• SAN FRANCISCO: 150th anniversary! Soldiers from the Presidio have participated in every commemoration of Memorial Day since its inception as a national observance in 1868. It is the largest Memorial Day commemoration event on the West Coast.