The Fort Allen Bandstand on the Eastern Promenade on Munjoy Hill with Portland Harbor in the Background.

Historian Herb Adams will kick-off a Memorial Day observation at the Bandstand at Ft. Allen Park on Munjoy Hill with a moment of silence on Monday, May 30, 2022 at 3:00 pm.  The moment of silence is to remember those who have died in military service to the United States. It will be followed by a drama filled talk about the war memorials in the area by Adams. The moment of silence was established by President Bill Clinton back on May 31, 1999.

This Memorial Day observation will be  a particularly somber one as the nation reflects on recent mass murders in Buffalo, New York and in Uvalda, Texas by a lone gunman.  The wrong judgment of the Uvalda police in refusing to go in sooner after the 18 year old shooter armed with military assualt weapons and too much amunition has become a major concern of this nation. It has prompted an investigation by the US Department of Justice announced today.

Another disgusting situation are the words of Senator Ted Cruz (R) of Texas.  Perhaps Cruz should be armed with a hand gun and dispatched to serve in a security detail in a Texas public school as he prescribed for teachers.  Would he be a coward as well?

The Adams portion of the Memorial Day observation will be followed by singer Brian Dewan at the same location.  Dewan, who is from New York, will sing “Songs of the Patrons of Husbandry” and “Songs of Land and Sea” accompanied by accordian and auto harp.  The event is expected to last betwen 1 l/2 – l 3/4 hours.  Please go to briandewan.com for more.

The public is invited to bring a blanket, lawn chairs and water battle.  Admission is free.  If inclement weather prevails, the event will be held at the St. Lawrence Arts Center, 76 Congress Street.  The indoor event would require patrons to be masked and fully vaccinated.

Adams is a professor of history at Southern Maine Community College.  Dewan is a musician living in Catskill, New York. (Near Albany).   He has performed at the Whitney Museum of American Art, The Brooklyn Museum, The New Museum, Modern Art Oxford, Lincoln Center and the Museum of Jurassic Technology.

Food trucks are expected to be in the area.