Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM 16 UCW NOVEMBER 2 - 8, 2022 e tenth annual Veterans Day Parade in downtown Fayetteville will kick off Heroes Homecoming week this year. e Cumberland County Veterans Council created Heroes Homecoming in 2011 as a way of showing all veterans that the commu- nity remembers and appreciates their courage, sacrifice and everything they did to defend our freedom. Michele Harling, a committee chair for the parade says that this year's theme for Heroes Homecoming Week is "Honoring the Heroes at Home." "We made the decision that we would like to honor the heroes that hold the home front. is includes the veterans who stay on post while their units are being deployed. is in- cludes the family members that have to hold the homestead together while their family member is deployed. It's about the veteran community that comes and supports what happens at Fort Bragg," Harling said. e committee was looking for a family that would represent the heroes at home and found the Davis family. Harling said that their experiences as a military family and Fayetteville na- tives make them great representatives of the huge number of families in the community who have supported their family members' military career. Chris Davis is a veteran, a Pastor of the Force of Life church in Fayetteville, and previously served as a Fayetteville council member. His wife, Demetria, is the North Carolina Mother of the Year. She is the mother of five children and grand- mother to one. Davis, also known as "Mama Dee" was awarded earlier this year by American Mothers Inc., a national nonprofit organization that provides mentoring, grants and other support for mothers and children. e parade will feature several JROTC groups, multiple high school marching bands, military equipment, various organizations, color guards, churches and groups, such as Scout- ing and the Shriners. Local sports teams and their mascots will also be making an appearance. e parade will especially feature members of the Fort Bragg communi- ty, including the 18th Airborne Corps and the U. S. Special Operations Com- mand. According to the Cumberland County Veterans Council, there are about 52,000 veterans that live in Cumberland County. at doesn't include the Fort Bragg population of 52,280 active duty soldiers and their family members. e parade route has changed. It will start on Person Street, just after B Street, and then move down Person Street to Hay Street, ending just before Segra Stadium. Previ- ously, the parade had to cross the train tracks in downtown Fayetteville, which was a safety hazard. "We don't have to worry about slowing them down or stopping them on that Saturday, and it'll give everybody a chance to slow down and kind of take their time on the route. In years past, we have been trying to make sure that we got every- body across the road before the train came," Harling said. "is year, we don't have to worry about the trains coming, so there will be opportunities for various groups to basically perform for the VIP grandstand along the route so that people can see what some of our organizations do." e parade will kick off on Nov. 5 at 10 a.m. e City of Fayetteville's Veterans Day Ceremony will follow the parade at the North Carolina Vet- erans Park. e ceremony will feature a mayoral proclamation, county and city elected officials offering remarks, a keynote speaker, and a flag cer- emony. Spectators are recommended to ar- rive early to find parking. Veterans Day Parade to honor heroes at home by HANNAH LEE EVENTS HANNAH LEE, Assistant Editor. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcom- ingweekly.com. 910-484-6200 Ride for a Wreath invites all to remember the fallen by DEBORAH MURPH JACOBS Rolling under North Carolina Chapter 1 invites everyone to remem- ber fallen veterans, honor those who serve and teach your children the value of freedom through the annual Ride for a Wreath. is is the 4th Annual Ride for a Wreath for Sandhills State Veterans Cemetery, but this tradition has existed for 12 years. Registration will start at 8 a.m. at the Fort Bragg Harley- Davison off Sycamore Dairy Road. e ceremony begins at 10 a.m. e Escorted Ride for a Wreath will take off at 11 a.m. and the ride will conclude at noon at Dirty Whiskey Craft Cocktails in Hope Mills. is event is open to the public, and all vehicles, cars, jeeps and trucks are welcome along with motorcycles. e ride is $20 per motorcycle, $10 per passenger, as well as $20 per vehicle. e event raises funds for Wreaths Across America, a nonprofit organiza- tion established in 1992. e project continues to grow. is year there will be 3,400 participating locations nationwide and overseas dedicated to providing a wreath for those who served and are buried in veterans cemeteries. Local donations will provide wreaths for Sandhills State Veterans Cemetery. If you cannot participate in the event, you can still donate. For every two wreaths sponsored, an additional one will be given for free. Wreaths cost $15 each, $30 for two, but the most popular donation is five wreaths for $75. Please make sure that the loca- tion to support is Sandhills Cemetery when donating. Ann Provencher, the program co- ordinator, says "So far, we have 1,510 wreaths sponsored and we have 1,490 to go. We are halfway to our goal." Provencher goes on to say, "Every year we have had enough wreaths for every veteran buried in Sandhills State Cemetery." Nationwide, the wreaths will be placed on the graves of the Veterans Cemetery on Saturday, Dec. 17. e ceremony will be held promptly at noon. Locally, volunteers are encour- aged to be at Spring Lake Fire De- partment at 9 a.m. Saturday morning to load the wreaths onto the trucks. ere will be highway patrol and motorcycle escorts to lead the convoy of trucks carrying the wreaths at 11:30 to the Sandhills State Veterans Cemetery. Parking is limited at the Sandhills State Veterans Cem- etery, so organizers suggest parking outside the cemetery to ensure room for the convoy of wreaths. For people who need assistance getting to the cemetery, there will be four golf carts carrying people from their cars to the event. When the wreaths are placed at the graves, their names will be said out load by the volunteer placing the wreath. "People die twice. Once when you actually die and secondly when you are forgotten," Ann says. e veteran's name is said so that they will never be forgotten and to honor their legacy and sacrifice. Fort Bragg Harley-Davison is lo- cated at 3950 Sycamore Dairy Road. Sandhills State Veterans Cemetery is located at 8220 Bragg Blvd. in Spring Lake, which is not on the Fort Bragg military installation. To sponsor a wreath please visit www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/ pages/166832 which will designate the location. Donations are accepted all year long. For more information or to vol- unteer, please contact the Rolling under NC Chapter 1 President, Ann Provencher at 910-670-9280 or ann3989@yahoo.com. e local Wreaths Across America Facebook page is www.facebook.com/ WAASandhills. DEBORAH MURPH JACOBS, Staff Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcom- ingweekly.com. 910-484-6200 e Veterans Day Parade kicks off at 10 a.m. on Nov. 5. (Photo courtesy Cumberland County Veterans Council) Ride for a Wreath will raise funds for Wreaths Across America. (Photo courtesy Rolling under NC Chapter 1)