The Student News Site of North Carolina A&T State University

The A&T Register

The Student News Site of North Carolina A&T State University

The A&T Register

The Student News Site of North Carolina A&T State University

The A&T Register

    Celebrate Memorial Day and avoid the hassles of traffic

    Memorial Day – a holiday to honor veterans, and also to celebrate the start of the warm season. In most areas of the country, parades will be held, pools will be open and the grills at parks will emit delicious smells of seasoned meat and vegetables.

    As you begin planning your Memorial Day events, make sure you plan for traffic. Airline travel prices have increased, and are expected to continue increasing this year, which may have you thinking about driving to your destination. But if the idea of sitting parked on a major highway or trying to negotiate crowds at Memorial Day events has you completely rethinking your plans, it may be good to consider these suggestions that won’t have you staying home in boredom, but also won’t have you negotiating Memorial Day weekend travel:

    * Bring the party to your house. Plan a backyard barbecue, picnic or even a themed party like a luau at your home, and invite your neighbors and friends over. If children are involved, set up plastic sheets with the hose for a water slide (you don’t even need a hill, children can propel themselves along the wet plastic with a running start), or create water balloons for a fun time. Just check with your neighborhood about parking for all your guests. Also, if you plan to use your barbecue or grill, make sure it is out of the way of activities so nobody accidentally bumps into it or worse, knocks it over. And always have an adult monitoring the grill while it’s in use.

    * Decorate your neighborhood with flags. Many veteran organizations will have miniature yard flags available. Contact them and ask if you can help decorate your town to celebrate Memorial Day.

    * Have your family organize a talent show, and contact your veteran organizations to see if you can perform it for veterans living in your community. You can also contact nursing care centers in your area and ask if you can perform your talent show there as well. Keep the show on the shorter side – 30 to 45 minutes works well for nursing care centers.

    * Participate in the national moment of remembrance, which happens across the county at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day. This was established in 1999 to raise Americans’ awareness of the honorable contributions made by those who died while defending our nation. Your family can also hear the National Memorial Day Concert – this year it will be held at 8 p.m. Eastern on May 29 on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol and will be broadcast live on PBS. Check your local listings for time.

    Memorial Day weekend doesn’t have to require many hours spent sitting in traffic trying to reach your destination. Your family can better spend the time in your local community with friends and neighbors.