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Need plans? Memorial Day sites, events across Phoenix area this weekend

By May Phan and FOX 10 Staff
Updated  May 30, 2022 5:32pm MST
Things to Do
FOX 10 Phoenix

PHOENIX - Need plans for your Memorial Day weekend? Check out these places to honor those who have served in the military, and keep reading to find a variety of events - including rallies, conventions, and dance parties - being offered throughout the holiday weekend:

Sites to visit

American Indian Veterans National Memorial - Service and sacrifice spanning more than three centuries are honored in the first and only known national memorial to American Indian veterans, which is located outside the Collector's Room of the Heard Museum Shop.

Anthem Veterans Memorial - Located in Community Park, officials say this memorial is a monument was erected to honor the services and sacrifices made by the armed forces. Ceremonies are held each Memorial Day at 9:00 a.m. 

Arizona Commemorative Air Force Museum - Check out real fighter jets and bombers used in wars from WWII to Vietnam. They're open for tours through Memorial Day, with flights all weekend long.

Arizona Military Museum - The building served as a National Guard arsenal until World War II, when it was converted into a maintenance shop for German prisoners of wa. Now, it aims to teach the public about Arizona's military history.

Gilbert 9/11 Memorial - A beam that once held up the North Tower of the World Trade Center now rests at Gilbert's 9/11 Memorial Plaza.

Navajo Code Talker Monument - Outside the Gallup Cultural Center stands the "Navajo Code Talker", a 12-foot bronze statue commemorating the Navajo Code Talkers, who played a major role in winning the war in the South Pacific during WWII by providing an efficient code that the Japanese never cracked.

USS Arizona Memorial Gardens - The Memorial Gardens features a piece of the original boathouse of the USS Arizona that sank at Pearl Harbor in 1941.

Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza - As one of the Phoenix Points of Pride in the central part of the city, It serves as a home to a number of memorials honoring Arizonans in history as well as memorializing significant wars.

Anthem

A Day of Remembrance - May 30

  • Anthem Veterans Memorial (41703 N. Gavilan Peak Parkway)
  • 9 a.m.
  • Features a keynote address from Purple Heart recipient Lieutenant Colonel Tim Pasquarelli, a POW/MIA table remembrance ceremony and the ringing of the Memorial Bell

Avondale

Memorial Day Service - May 30

  • Avondale Civic Center (11465 W. Civic Center Drive)
  • 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
  • Avondale Mayor Kenn Weise will address the crowd at this reflective event, which will also include music, special tributes, and a candlelight vigil.

Buckeye

Memorial Day Ceremony - May 30

  • Louis B. Hazelton Memorial Cemetery (23100 W. Broadway Road)
  • 8 a.m. - 9 a.m.

Phoenix

Flags for our Fallen Memorial Day Rally - May 30

  • Phoenix National Memorial Cemetery (23029 N Cave Creek Rd)
  • 6 a.m - 8 a.m.
  • Pay tribute to those who served with RidersUSA, a group of patriotic bikers who will be lining Cave Creek Road with hundreds of flagpoles. Family members going into the cemetery will be saluted that morning.

Phoenix Fan Fusion - May 27, 28, 29

  • Phoenix Convention Center (100 N Third Street)
  • 8 a.m. - 11:30 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Sunday
  • A massive pop-culture convention featuring celebrity guests, panels, cosplay and all things geeky
  • Tickets range from $70 - $110. Buy them online.

Memorial Weekend Cookout - May 27, 28, 29

  • LUSTRE Rooftop Bar (2 E Jefferson St)
  • 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. each day
  • The chef will be grilling and offering classic sides with live music nightly

Walter Where?House's Season Closing Party - May 28

  • Walter Where?House (702 N 21st Ave)
  • 9 p.m. - 3 a.m., 21+
  • Listen to some "mushroom jazz" and house music all night long as the venue prepares to close out their spring season
  • Admission is $26. Buy tickets here.

Cobra Kai 80's Night - May 29

  • Thunderbird Lounge (710 W Montecito Ave)
  • 12 p.m., 21+ only
  • Free event - come out dressed in 80s attire and jam out to hair metal and glam rock all night long.

Pre-Memorial Day Party at Lucky's - May 29

  • Lucky's Indoor Outdoor (817 N 2nd St)
  • 4 p.m.
  • Features live music, Mexican food and plenty of cold beers

Foam Zone at Children's Museum of Phoenix - May 30

  • Children's Museum of Phoenix (215 N 7th St, Phoenix, AZ)
  • 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
  • The event, which kicks off Memorial Day and runs through August 31, features a huge blanket of bubbles kids can play in outside the museum's entrance
  • $16 per person, babies under the age of 1 are free

Glendale

3rd Annual Memorial Day Hike - May 30

Scottsdale

Free Foam Frenzy - May 28, 29, 30

  • Arizona Boardwalk Courtyard (9500 East Vía de Ventura)
  • 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. each day
  • Free water-based fun for the kids, featuring foam parties, fire truck water play and water squirter battle zones

Memorial Day Ride - May 30

  • Harley-Davidson of Scottsdale (15656 N Hayden Rd)
  • Registration at 9 a.m., leaves at 10 .am.
  • Motorcycle riders will join up and ride to National Memorial Cemetery to pay tribute. Motorcycle endorsement and proof of insurance are required.
  • RSVP here: https://form.jotform.com/91255406830151

Tempe

Red, White & Blue Memorial Day Bash - May 28

  • AURA (411 S. Mill Ave)
  • 10 p.m. - 2 a.m., 18+ for event
  • DJs, drinks and dancing
  • Tickets range from $20-$30. Buy them here.

Service at National Memorial Cemetery in north Phoenix honors fallen soldiers

Memorial Day has been observed for more than 150 years, and on May 30, ceremonies honoring the men and women who sacrified themselves for the country took place across the Phoenix area. FOX 10's Desiree Fluellen reports.