Waukesha Parade Memorial: Dedication ceremony at Grede Park
WAUKESHA, Wis. - The Waukesha community gathered at Grede Park on Thursday, Nov. 21 to mark the three-year anniversary of the parade tragedy with the dedication of the new Parade Memorial at Grede Park.
Waukesha Parade Memorial dedication, interview with mayor
The Waukesha community will gather at Grede Park on Thursday, Nov. 21 to mark the three-year anniversary of the parade tragedy with the dedication of the new Parade Memorial at Grede Park. Ahead of the ceremony, FOX6's Bret Lemoine spoke with Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly.
The $1.5 million memorial features six ribbons that come together at the center to form a heart. There will also be plaques for each of the six people killed when Darrell Brooks drove an SUV through the 2021 Christmas parade on Main Street. More than 60 other people were physically hurt.
Thrive Architects
Crews have been working since May at Grede Park on the memorial.
The city announced in April it had met its initial fundraising goal. That included $600,000 in federal ARPA funds – and more than $500,000 in community donations.
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The Parade Memorial, located near 538 Riverwalk Drive, will serve as a place of remembrance and resilience.
Members of the community purchased and designed more than 700 clay tiles to help pay for the memorial. Each tile shares a message of strength and hope for a city still healing.
It stands as a reminder to what Waukesha is all about.
The giant heart shows the love a community has for the lives lost and the impact from the incident. Donna Kalik watched the horror unfold from the sidewalk.
"I hate that it has to be here but it’s the most touching and beautiful memorial I’ve ever seen," Kalik said. "I’ve seen so many tears tonight and kind of running around going, there’s Tamara! There’s Lee!"
Her friends were among the six people killed.
Waukesha Christmas parade memorial project milestone marked on Oct. 9
In just six weeks, people in Waukesha will dedicate a memorial honoring the victims of the Christmas parade attack.
Taylor Kulich’s mom, Jane, was one of the six.
"I may not have been at the parade that day, but a piece of my heart was," Kulich said.
Each victim has a bench accompanied by words written by their loved ones.
"That’s my wish for my mom. For Jackson, Ginny, Lee, Tamara and Bill," Kulich said.
"That we remember them for how they lived."
Wrapping around the monument like a hug are 1,200 messages from the community. Each is engraved in clay from people like Marcia Schlei. The messages share sympathy, sorrow and most importantly, strength.
"It’s kind of surreal still because I was there," Schlei said. "My tile says basically that I’m not going to let this keep me from going to the parade."
Survivors like Tyler Pudleiner still live with physical scars. Pudleiner was hit, marching with Waukesha South High School’s band.
"It gives us a space to come when we need to and reflect on our own," he said. "I didn’t think the memorial was going to be as big as it is."
It makes him realize that love will now live on forever.
"That’s the main important thing – that we’re all together," Pudleiner said. "Our Waukesha Strong family."