Memorial Day Weekend in Peabody

Peabody will be remembering fallen veterans this weekend during the city's annual Memorial Day ceremonies.

On Friday morning, volunteers gathered to place flags at the graves of veterans buried at -- the burial ground has a dedicated section for local veterans.

On Sunday, a special Mass service will be held at  at 8:30 a.m. Also later that morning, , which is privately owned, will be holding as well as extending visitation hours over the weekend.

And on Memorial Day itself, the city's annual parade steps off to  at 9:15 a.m. (a memorial ceremony begins there at 9:30 a.m.) and then the rest of the parade route starts at 11 a.m. at the corner of Allens Lane and Washington Street. Concluding ceremonies will be held in front of  from 11:45 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

U.S. Sen. Scott Brown plans to march in the parade before attending ceremonies up Tewksbury later in the afternoon. He'll be in Haverhill beforehand.

In addition to Mayor Ted Bettencourt, the guest speaker for Monday's ceremony is Richard Skelton.

As for public safety, the Peabody police are reminding motorists that the parade route will be closed to traffic on Monday and parking will be prohibited during that time. The route goes the length of Washington Street to Main Street and then down through the square to .

Police say that any vehicle parked in disregard of the posted "No Parking" signs will be subject to a ticket and tow. Anyone who has questions or concerns should call Area Commander Capt. Joseph Berardino at 978-538-6315 or if he is unavailable, the Watch Commander on duty at 978-538-6304.

The department will also have extra officers on duty this weekend for seat belt and OUI enforcement.

"We urge you to buckle up and to utilize a designated driver when going to/from your destinations. Officers will also be patrolling the parks and bike paths as well as the neighborhoods," says a public notice released Friday. The notice also adds that if residents see any suspicious activity, they should dial 911 if appropriate or call the department's business line at 978-531-1212.

For those traveling outside the city this weekend, the state Department of Transportation encourages everyone to travel safely.

MassDOT says plan ahead -- the heaviest traffic was expected Thursday, Friday and Monday afternoons and early evenings -- and try to avoid peak traffic volumes between 1 and 7 p.m. on those days.

For more details from MassDOT, go here, and you can also check the interactive live traffic cameras as well for up-to-date traffic patterns on major highways.

Back in Peabody, all three branches of the  will be closed May 26-28 in observance of the holiday and  and all other city offices will be closed on Monday.