The City of Aurora will celebrate the 158th anniversary of Memorial Day during the 2026 Aurora Memorial Day Parade, which will step off at the intersection of Benton Street and River Street at 10am on Monday, May 25.
Longtime community member and U.S. Marine Corps veteran, James “Jim” Butler, will serve as the Parade’s Grand Marshal. Butler joined the Marine Corps in 1959, serving in Okinawa, Japan, with the 3rd Recon Battalion. After four years of active-duty service and two years in the reserves, Butler returned home in 1963, married his wife, Rosemarie, and had six children. From 1963 until his retirement in 2012, Butler worked for the John Sexton Company, starting as a laborer and ending his tenure as the Company’s General Manager. In his free time, Butler continues to be active in the community, serving as a member of the Fox Valley Marine Corps League, the Blue Cap Foundation Charity Invitational, the Roosevelt Aurora American Legion Post 84, and AMVETS Post 103. In the past, Butler was also a member of the Aurora Veterans Advisory Council.
The Parade will also feature local veteran groups and military organizations, including the Roosevelt Aurora American Legion Post 84, Fox Valley Marines Detachment #1233, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Commission.
Marching bands will fill the parade with music from Aurora’s talented youth at East Aurora High School, West Aurora High School, Metea Valley High School, Granger Middle School, and Hill Elementary School, along with the Aurora Roosevelt American Legion Band.
Other crowd favorites, such as the Lamplighters Barbershop Chorus, Costumers with a Cause, the Phillips Park Zoo, the Aurora Public Library’s Bookmobile, the East Aurora NJROTC, the West Aurora High School Cheer Team, and Diamond Dance Academy, will help to energize Aurora for this 158th anniversary of Memorial Day.
Attendees can enjoy the comfort of free parking available throughout downtown Aurora. Visitors are encouraged to arrive before 9:30 A.M. to provide enough time for parking and viewing preparation on the parade route.
