Joliet will hold its first Memorial Day commemoration in recent memory on Wednesday.

“It’s an inaugural event but hopefully one that will continue,” said Ann Sylvester, director of cultural affairs and special events for the city.

The city typically does not organize a Memorial Day event but did so this year with the opening of the new City Square downtown.

The ceremony will be noon to 1 p.m. at the City Square, 91 N. Chicago St. Those who come early can enjoy both a visit to the square and a performance by the Joliet American Legion Band, which starts at 11:30 a.m.

The Memorial Day commemoration is among the first events held in the Square, which opened at the end of April.

The square “is also a community space of remembrance and gathering,” Sylvester said. “Community events are very important to honor people.”

The ceremony will feature keynote speaker Benjamin M. White, a retired lieutenant colonel who served 22 years in the U.S. Army as a field artillery officer.

White is a Naperville City Council member who at one time taught at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He currently works with the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program at Joliet West High School.

The commemoration will be “a solemn ceremony dedicated to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country,” states a city announcement of the event. “Representatives from all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces will be present to pay tribute, and a ceremonial wreath will be laid in their memory.”