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Danville’s annual Memorial Day traditions are set to return this year at the end of the upcoming three-day weekend, consisting of a commemorative ceremony and a lighting of the historic Mount Diablo beacon.
Memorial Day in Danville will kick off with a remembrance ceremony hosted by the Viet Nam Veterans of the Diablo Valley and conclude with a lighting of the Mount Diablo beacon remotely by Mayor Karen Stepper at the Veterans Memorial Building.
While the remembrance ceremony is a longstanding Memorial Day tradition in Danville, the beacon lighting is a relatively new one, with this year marking just the third time that the beacon has been lit for Memorial Day.Â
The World War II era beacon – known as the “Eye of Diablo” – has long been a symbol of Pearl Harbor Day in the San Ramon Valley, having been lit annually to mark the attack on U.S. territory that kicked off the country’s involvement in the war since 1964. In 2022, the Danville Town Council and other local officials signed a proclamation calling for it to also be illuminated to mark Memorial Day and Veterans Day.
The remembrance ceremony is set to kick off with live music in Oak Hill Park at 3005 Stone Valley Road at 10 a.m. Monday, with remarks from this year’s speaker Bill Green and other programming continuing at 11 a.m.Â
From 7-9 p.m., the Veterans Memorial Building at 400 Hartz Ave. will be open for the public to gather and peruse historic photos and memorabilia, with the beacon lighting – hosted by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 75 and other local veterans groups – to begin gathering crowds at the flagpole outside the building at 8 p.m.
The town will also observe the federal holiday with the closure of the town offices at 500 La Gonda Way for the day.
