As hard as it is to believe, it is already May, and that means we are only weeks away from the annual Ironton-Lawrence County Memorial Day parade.

This event, the oldest continuously run parade for the holiday in the nation, draws thousands to the city and promises to be bigger than usual this year, with this year being its 150th anniversary.

In preparation for this year’s parade, Ironton has been taking part in a citywide clean up effort.

At the Ironton City Center, workers installed new awnings last week, while downtown sidewalks along the parade route have been pressure washed and crews have been cleaning up the riverbank for Navy Night.

In addition to continuing the tradition of honoring those who have served our nation, this year’s sesquicentennial will likely bring more visitors to Ironton than the city has seen in years.

We thank the city workers for their effort and we hope that city residents will join them in these efforts, cleaning up their properties around town and helping the area present its best face.

This year’s holiday events will be a historic chance to show the city to what could be an unprecedented amount of visitors and we encourage everyone to show their civic pride and come together in this clean-up.