Crewmembers from Coast Guard Station Calumet Harbor and members of the Coast Guard Auxiliary march in the Memorial Day Parade in Chicago. The parade is one of the biggest Memorial Day celebrations in the United States. U.S. Coast Guard photo/PA3 George Degener

Events will be conducted throughout Cook County on Memorial Day weekend to remember those who sacrificed their lives four our country.

Towns throughout the county will conduct parades and ceremonies paying tribute to military personnel who paid the ultimate price for freedom. Chicago boasts one of the nation’s largest Memorial Day parades.

While the vast majority of the weekend’s  events focus on war and remembrances, there are some lighter events as well, such as the annual celebration of Irish heritage at Gaelic Park and a “It’s 5 O’clock Somewhere Run” in Forest Park.

The Chronicle provides you with the most comprehensive list of Memorial Day Weekend events in Cook County. Events include:

• Alsip – Services at 11 a.m. Monday at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 450, located at 11800 S. Cicero Ave.

• Arlington Heights – The village’s 96^th annual Memorial Day Parade will step off at 9:30 a.m. Monday at Arlington Heights Road and Sigwall. The event is organized by the American Legion and the village’s Veterans Memorial Committee. Last year, more than 3,500 people marched in the 1.25-mile route. Following the parade, the Memorial Day Ceremony Program will be held in Memorial Park, located at Chestnut and Fremont, where the 58 young men from the community who died serving our nation will be honored.
• Barlett – The village will have a walk and remembrance, beginning at 10 a.m. at Bartlett Park, located at North and Oak avenues, with an American flag retirement ceremony. The walk will step off at 11 a.m. From Bartlett Cemetery.
• Barrington – Residents and members of the Barrington VFW will participate in the annual Memorial Day Parade at 10 a.m. Monday, which kicks off at Cook and Main streets and ends with a service at Evergreen Cemetery. Historic walking tours of the business district will commence and continue throughout the summer.
• Bedford Park – The Bedford Memorial Day Hometown Parade will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday, beginning on Nashau Road across from the Little League complex. The parade theme is “Saluting the Price of Freedom.” Bedford World War II veteran Earl Mayard Isham, who died in 2014, will be honored at the event. A concert, featuring the Alumni Band of the National Guard, will be held from 2:30-3:30 p.m. at McKelve Intermediate School.
• Chicago – A Wreath Laying Ceremony will begin at 11 a,.m. at the Eternal Flame on Daley Plaza. The parade will step off at noon and proceed south on State Street from Lake Street to Van Buren Street.
• Chicago – The 20^th annual Chicago Gaelic Park Irish Fest will take place from Friday through Monday. It is the first major Chicago festival of the summer. Exhibits include a petting zoo, Irish dog and horse displays and sports contests,
• Country Club Hills –  A Memorial Day program, sponsored by Mayor James W. Ford, the County Club Hills City Council and the city’s Veterans Commission will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at County Club Hills City Hall, 4200 W. 183^rd St. The event will feature patriotic music, color guards, a guest speaker and refreshments.
• Des Plaines – Recognition of local Korean War veterans will be conducted by VFW Post 2922 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday at the Lake Park Memorial Pavilion, 2200 Lee St.
• Elgin – There will be a Catholic Mass at 8:45 a.m. Monday at Mount Hope Cemetery, 1001 Villa St. A service to honor military personnel buried in Mount Hope Cemetery will be held at 9:15 a.m. Monday at the cemetery, 30W739 US 20. A ceremony honoring veterans interred at sea will be at 9:45 a.m. Monday at Elgin Veterans Memorial Park, 270 N. Grove Ave. A ceremony at Bluff City Cemetery at 11 a.m. will honor women who served as nurses in the military.
• Elk Grove Village – The village, with support from VFW Post 9284 and its Ladies Auxiliary, will hold its 17^th annual Memorial Day Observation at 10:45 a.m. at the Elk Grove Park District Pavilion, 1000 Wellington Ave.
• Elmhurst – A Memorial Day Parade will kick off at 9:30 a.m. Monday from York and Third streets and head to Wilder Park.
• Frankfort – A Memorial Day ceremony will be held from 10-11 a.m. at Kansas and Oak streets. Members of the Hickory Crest Middle School band will perform.
• Franklin Park – The village will conduct a Memorial Day Observance at 11 a.m. Monday at the village’s Veterans Monument to pay tribute to deceased Franklin Park veterans. The event will feature an honor guard from American Legion Post 974, a presentation of the memorial wreath, a 21-gun salute and a reading of the names of departed veterans.
• Glencoe – A ceremony will be held from 11 a.m. to noon at Veterans Memorial Park.
• Hanover Park – A Memorial Day Ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. Monday at Veterans Memorial Plaza at Village Hall, 2121 Lake St.
• Hillside – A Memorial Day Ceremony will be conducted at noon Monday in the Hillside Commons, honoring men and women who have died in military service to their country.
• Hoffman Estates – A Memorial Day Observance will be held at 10 a.m. Monday at the Veterans Memorial Site, 411 W. Higgins Road.
• Homewood – A Memorial Day Parade will kick off at 10:30 a.m. Monday on Dixie Highway at Chestnut Road, going to Olive Road and then west to Harwood Avenue, stopping in Veterans Park for a ceremony.
• Lemont – A Memorial Day Mass will be held at 9 a.m. at Sts. Cyril & Methodius Cemetery.
• Lincolnwood – A Memorial Day Parade will begin at 10:20 a.m. Monday. Festivities will be led by the village and American Legion Post 1226.
• Morton Gove – American Legion Post 134 will hold its annual Memorial Day Parade beginning at 1:30 p.m. Monday from the parking lot of the American Legion Civic Center, located at Dempster and Georgiana. The parade will proceed south to Crain, east to School, south to Lincoln and west to the library, where a ceremony will take place at the Doughboy Statue. After the ceremony, the parade will form on Georgiana and march back to the Civic Center.
• Mount Prospect – A Memorial Day Program will be held at 9:30 a.m. at the band shell in Lions Park, 411 S. Maple St. The Mount Prospect Community Band will perform patriotic music. A speaker from the U.S. military will provide remembrances of his military experience. The band’s renditions of “America the Beautiful” and “The Stars and Stripes Forever” will bring the program to a close. Also, the Mount Prospect Jaycees will have their annual Memorial Day Weekend Carnival from Thursday through Monday at Rand and Central roads. The carnival provides funds for scholarships and community projects. It is the carnival 36^th year.
• North Riverside – “It’s 5 O’clock Somewhere 5K” will begin at 8:50 a.m. Monday at the North Riverside Recreation Department, 2401 Des Plaines Ave., with a salute to the troops. The race begins at 9 a.m. All registrations must be postmarked by Wednesday. There will be no race day registration.
• Northbrook – Memorial Day Weekend events include: Memorial Day parade at 10:30 a.m. Monday, stepping off from Cherry and Western and continuing east on Cherry to the Village Green. Bands from local schools will be marching and performing following the parade; Positioning of Flags on Veterans’ Grave Sites at 10 a.m. Saturday at Sacred Heart Cemetery on Lee Road just north of Dundee Road. The positioning of 150 flags takes one to two hours; and flying flags all weekend in support of the Flags Around Northbrook program.
• Oak Forest – A Memorial Day ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at the Veterans Memorial at City Hall, 15440 S. Central Ave. The event is sponsored by Owen W. Winters Jr. VFW Post 424.
• Orland Park – Events include: a South Side Commemoration Ceremony at 1 p.m. Sunday at the village’s Veterans Memorial, 14700 S. Ravinia Ave., to honor veterans of the Korean War. Following the ceremony, inside the Civic Center there will be Korean entertainment, refreshments and a video of gratitude from the people of Korea; the village’s annual Memorial Day Ceremony will be held at 1 p.m. Monday at the Veterans Memorial.
• Park Forest – The Park Forest American Legion will conduct a Memorial Day Program at 11 a.m. Monday on the Village Green, located at Main Street and Cunningham Drive.
• Park Ridge – The annual Memorial Day Parade will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, starting at Cumberland and Talcott and ending at City Hall.
• Posen – The Posen Park District’s annual free Memorial Day Picnic will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Memorial Park.
• River Forest – The River Forest Service Club and the River Forest Park District will present the Memorial Day Parade at 10 a.m. Monday from Constitution Park (Willard School) south on Ashland Avenue to Lake Street and west of Keystone Park.
• Rolling Meadows – The city’s Memorial Day parade will be Saturday art 11 a.m., starting at the fire station and ending at the Carillon Pavilion. A ceremony featured the National Anthem and “Taps” will be held at 11:30 a.m.
• Schaumburg – The 28^th annual Prairie Arts Festival will feature arts and craft exhibits and sales from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday on the grounds of the Robert O. Atcher Municipal Center, 101 Schaumburg Court. More than 130 painters, sculptors, photographers, jewelers, potters and artists will be on hand; and there will be entertainment on three stages. There will also be a food truck court. Admission and parking are free.
• Skokie – A Memorial Day Observance will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at Veterans Park, located at Lincoln and Cleveland avenues. Local veterans posts will be at the ceremony and “Taps” will be performed.
• Stickney – The village in conjunction with American Legion Post 687 will conduct a Memorial Day Recognition Event at 10:30 a.m. Monday at the Veterans Memorial Monument located at 39^th and Ridgeland. Refreshments will be served after the ceremony.
• Streamwood – The village’s Veterans Memorial Commission will conduct a Memorial Day Weekend Observance with a candlelight vigil, starting at 8 p m. Saturday and continuing throughout the night. The guard is relieved at 11 a.m. Sunday, which then starts the Memorial Day Ceremony. The observance will be at the Streamwood Veterans Memorial, next to Village Hall, 301 E. Irving Park Road.
• Western Springs – VFW Post 10778 will conduct the annual Memorial Day Parade at 10 a.m. Monday, starting at Hillgrove Avenue near the Theatre of Western Springs. The route will stay on Hillgrove, head north on Grand Avenue, east on Chestnut Avenue, south on Lawn Avenue and end at Tower Green. Bands from local schools will be marching and a ceremony will be held at Tower Green following the parade.
• Wheeling – A Memorial Day parade will step off at 11 a.m. Monday from Flag Park, located at Milwaukee Avenue and Dundee Road, and proceed west on Dundee to Wolf and end at Chamber Park, 333 W. Dundee.
• Wilmette – The village and Huerter American Legion Post 46 will conduct a Memorial Day parade at 10:30 a.m. Monday, stepping off from Lake Avenue and Ridge Road and concluding at Village Hall, 1200 Wilmette Ave.
• Willow Springs – A Memorial Day Ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at Village Hall, 1 Village Circle.
• Winnetka – A Memorial Day Parade will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, kicking off from Glendale and Elm streets and heading east to the Village Green. A ceremony follows the parade on the Village Green. Speaker will be Command Master Chief Leon R. Walker Jr. of the Naval Service Training Command.