Monday is Memorial Day, and local residents will have the opportunity to observe the holiday today during the city's second-annual parade.
Ed Winters, who organized the program, said the parade will starts at 10 a.m. today.
"We have a lot of participants, more than we did last year," Winters said on Friday. "We have groups that I wish we could have gotten last year, from baseball teams, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, from Harmony Grove we've got peewee cheerleaders, classic cars, all of the military organizations -- the VFW, American Legion, Daughters of the American Revolution."
The parade will begin at the Post Office, traveling up Washington onto Adams, turning right onto Jefferson and ending at the Ouachita County Courthouse.
"The parade has grown wonderfully, and I hope it continues to do so when we do this each year," Winters said.
Immediately following the parade will be a Memorial Day program. Mark Smith, of Thrive Church, will give a prayer, which will be followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem. Camden Mayor Charlotte Young and Ouachita County Judge Robert McAdoo will then lay wreaths in tribute to fallen soldiers.
Winters said a local high school student will follow, reading a paper they wrote about the meaning of Memorial Day. They will be presented with a prize for their work.
Arkansas Sen. Matt Stone, Young, McAdoo and the mayors of any other municipalities in Ouachita County will then be invited to speak.
"Memorial Day means so much to me. My ancestors all served, my dad served, my brother served," he said. "None of them, thank God -- the Lord was watching over them, so they weren't killed, so this isn't their day. People who served in the military and made the ultimate sacrifice are a blessing to this country. We wouldn't be where we are without them."
Winters and his wife, Debi, organized the first ever Memorial Day parade last year. Winters said observations of the holiday were a staple every May in New York, where he grew up.
"I remember going as a young child right up until I left Long Island 20 years ago, and I never understood why we didn't have them here," he said. "I'm hoping it grows each year. I hope more and more people come out to watch it."
In the future, Winters said he hopes to organize flag laying at local veterans' cemeteries.
"I'd like to see if we could eventually try to do something like that to recognize those veterans that are buried here in Camden," he said.
A food truck festival will follow today's program.
A memorial to the local veterans killed in the Spanish-American War is pictured. A Memorial Day parade and program is scheduled for 10 a.m. today. (Michael Hanich/Camden News)