Waukesha Parade Memorial: Grede Park groundbreaking Wednesday
WAUKESHA, Wis. - The community came together in Waukesha as the city broke ground on the Grede Park Waukesha Parade Memorial on Wednesday, May 8.
Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly said this is an important step toward healing after nearly two years of planning and fundraising.
The $1.5 million memorial will feature 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.
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A tile wall made by hundreds of community members will also be featured at the memorial.
The city met its fundraising goal last month. Reilly said construction will start before the end of May, and the city plans to dedicate the memorial on Nov. 21 – marking three years since the attack.
Waukesha parade memorial fundraising goal met; construction begins in May
The initial fundraising goal for the Waukesha Christmas Parade Memorial Fund has been met, officials announced on Thursday, April 18.
"You don’t 100% heal from something like this. There is a scar – whether you lost a loved one, have scars, or emotionally you went through the parade and witnessed what happened," Reilly said. "But you can reach a plateau of peace of what happened – try to make sense of it in life."
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Last year, the city dedicated a separate memorial on Main Street. Reilly said the Parade Memorial Commission decided a separate, larger memorial was needed because there are still people who feel it’s too painful to be back on Main Street. He also that memorial was also part of the overall cost of the space at Grede Park.
While the initial fundraising goal for the project was achieved, donations are still being accepted for the Parade Memorial Fund. Once the construction costs have been met, any further fundraising and gifts will be used to establish a maintenance fund for the memorial.