Can’t Miss Alabama: This Memorial Day, pay tribute to the nation’s fallen service members

Spanish Fort’s Memorial Day Ceremony

Gather to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice at the Alabama State Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Spanish Fort Monday, May 26, at 11 a.m. The keynote speaker will be CDR Mark K. Fields, USN (retired), executive director for the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park. The program will also include presentation of colors, Pledge of Allegiance, national anthem, laying of the wreath, dove release, flag-folding ceremony, retirement of the colors, honor guard salute and Taps. For more information, visit the website.

Smith Lake Park Memorial Festival

Kick off the unofficial start to the summer at a Memorial Day Festival on Smith Lake Saturday, May 24, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The festival offers entertainment, a car show, arts and crafts, vendors, food trucks and opening day for the swimming pool. The festivities will take place at 403 Cullman County Road 386 in Cullman.

Alabama Veterans Memorial Park

The Alabama Veterans Memorial Park will be open Memorial Day. Visitors can see the Alabama Fallen Veterans Memorial seven days a week from dawn to dusk. For updates about upcoming events, visit alabamaveterans.org. The park is at 100 Overton Access Road in Birmingham.

Birmingham Stallions

The Birmingham Stallions will face the Michigan Panthers Saturday, May 24, at 2 p.m. at Protective Stadium. Click here for the complete schedule. Buy tickets here. Follow the Birmingham Stallions on X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Tik Tok.

American Village Memorial Day Observance

Remember America’s fallen at an 11 a.m. service in the Colonial Chapel, followed by a wreath-laying at the National Veterans Shrine. Explore the 188-acre American Village campus in Montevallo, including replicas of George Washington’s Mount Vernon, the President’s Oval Office, Concord Bridge and the West Wing of Independence Hall. Military vehicles and re-enactors will be onsite. Admission is free. For the complete schedule, click here.

Montevallo’s Memorial Day Observance 

The annual Memorial Day Observance at the Alabama National Cemetery has been planned for Monday, May 26, at 9 a.m. The ceremony is a time in which fallen heroes are remembered and honored. Graveside Flag Placement will be Saturday, May 24, at 9 a.m. The cemetery is at 3133 Alabama 119 in Montevallo next to American Village, near the University of Montevallo, approximately six miles west of Interstate 65.

Water park attractions

Water parks around the state include:

• WildWater in Cullman: Click here for the hours and ticket information.
• Alabama Adventure Amusement Park and Splash Adventure Water Park in Bessemer: Click here for the hours and ticket information.
• Montgomery Whitewater: Click here for the hours and ticket information.
• OWA Tropic Falls Waterpark in Foley: Click here for the hours and ticket information.
• Aura Adventures in Foley: Click here for information about the newest water park in downtown OWA in Foley.

Birmingham Rise Above Tour

The Southern Museum of Flight, along with Commemorative Air Force (CAF) Rise Above: Red Tail and Million Air Birmingham, is bringing living history to Birmingham. In conjunction with the museum’s continuing honoring of historic WWII aircraft, the CAF Rise Above tour, a threefold educational outreach program, brings the history and legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen to life. In addition, the Birmingham Rise Above Tour will feature a Fairchild PT-19, a fully restored WWII aircraft. PT-19s were used in Tuskegee to teach new pilot recruits to fly. This aircraft (named “Jany”) is based in Birmingham and operated by the Birmingham Escadrille, a CAF Squadron that takes its name from the first Alabama Air National Guard unit formed in Birmingham in 1922. The tour opens May 22-26. The event is at 4725 65th Place.

Symphony in the Summer

Symphony in the Summer returns to Birmingham’s Railroad Park, offering three nights of free, open-air performances with each evening presenting a distinct musical experience, curated for audiences of all ages. Attendees are encouraged to bring blankets, lawn chairs and picnic baskets. The series will take place Memorial Day weekend, May 23-25, at 7:30 p.m. For more information and the complete lineup, visit alabamasymphony.org.