WESTBROOK – Faced with three major events converging in two weekends in May and June, city officials are planning one parade to celebrate Memorial Day, Together Days and Westbrook’s bicentennial.

City Clerk Lynda Adams said Tuesday that the city has decided to combine the annual Memorial Day parade with the city’s Together Days celebration, as well as incorporate Westbrook’s 200th anniversary, which will be marked on June 9.

Adams said instead of planning two separate parades to celebrate Memorial Day, which falls on Monday, May 26, and Together Days, which is planned for the weekend of May 30-31, the city could combine the events to provide “an even bigger parade, with more participation, and a heavy focus on our military veterans.”

The parade will occur on Saturday, May 31, kicking off at 10 a.m. at the intersection of Lincoln and Bridge streets.

Adams added that city officials met with both American Legion groups in the city to make sure they were on board with the decision.

“We asked them their opinion because the last thing we want is for them to feel like we are slighting them,” she said. “We want to honor them.”

She said that while some members were not happy with the decision, both Legions agreed with the plan.

The city is still assisting in organizing events on Memorial Day, May 26, including a service at Woodlawn Cemetery at 8 a.m., and an event in Riverbank Park at 10 a.m.

According to Adams, city officials had originally planned on a long weekend of events during the weekend of June 6-8, but had to switch gears once Together Days organizers chose the prior weekend for the event.

With the city also organizing a bicentennial celebration, Adams said she has been researching Westbrook’s centennial parade 100 years ago. She said that during that celebration, emphasis was placed on military, civic organizations, and the board of trade, which is the equivalent of today’s Westbrook/Gorham Community Chamber.

“It seemed appropriate, and lined up like it should, to make the military a heavy emphasis, and we always have civic organizations and businesses that participate,” she said.

The city’s bicentennial celebration will take place on Monday, June 9, at the Westbrook Performing Arts Center at 6 p.m., where city officials will open a time capsule that was buried in Riverbank Park a century ago.

Adams said the event will also focus on the future, with the city putting together another time capsule over a period of a few months to be closed at the end of 2014.

For more information on Westbrook’s bicentennial, go to facebook.com/WestbrookBicentennial. The American Journal will publish a special bicentennial section on May 22.

For more information on Westbrook Together Days, visit westbrooktogetherdays.com.