Jacksonville's Veterans Day Weekend Gets a New Stop This Year, Right Beside the Memorials

At 9:30 Friday morning, a small group will gather at Freedom Fountain, where Johnson Boulevard meets New Bridge Street. Representatives from each Onslow County municipality will each add a few drops of water to the fountain pool. The fountain stands for Freedom Way, the route to Morehead City, and the observance honors the service members who passed through Onslow County on their way out. The Onslow Civic Affairs Committee runs it, and it is the first thing on the schedule for Jacksonville's Veterans Tribute NC weekend.

Veterans Tribute NC officially runs November 1 through 11, but its events don't spread evenly across those days. The fountain ceremony, the Friday night festival at Jacksonville Commons, the parade on Western Boulevard and the Onslow Veterans Pow Wow all fall between Friday morning, November 6, and Sunday afternoon, November 8. Veterans Day itself is the following Wednesday. Until this year, a resident who missed that weekend mostly had the memorials left. This year there's also a museum next to them, open six days a week, including the holiday.

Friday Starts at the Fountain and Ends in Fireworks

The fountain ceremony on the City of Jacksonville calendar runs from 9:30 to 11 a.m. It is short and quiet, and it's the one event of the weekend built around Onslow County's towns acting together.

Friday evening is the loud one. Red, White & Salute is free and runs from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Jacksonville Commons Festival Grounds, 100 Recreation Lane. Jacksonville Tourism's October 20 announcement lists axe throwing, mechanical bull riding, food trucks and craft vendors. A beer garden pours from two local breweries, Salty Turtle Beer Company and Shortway Brewing. Red NOT Chili Peppers, a Red Hot Chili Peppers tribute band, play from 7 to 9 p.m., and fireworks follow. The September tourism itinerary and the City's Freedom Fountain page both give a 5 p.m. start, while the October 20 announcement says 6 p.m.

The City also hands out free green bulbs for Operation Green Light at events leading up to the November 1 to 11 tribute, and residents can pick them up at City Hall. The idea is for porches and storefronts to show green as a sign of support for veterans.

Saturday Morning Asks You to Pick a Side of Town

Three things overlap on Saturday, November 7, and they're miles apart.

1. 8:30 a.m., Fuzzy Peach Trail Run. The Jacksonville-Onslow Sports Commission runs this 5K on the farm trails at Hines Farm & Stables, 765 Cedar Run Road. The trails have roots, and the start and finish are paved. The one-mile event starts at 8:35. Finishers get Fuzzy Peach frozen yogurt, medals and free race photos. Registration is $30 for the 5K, $35 for the kids' one-mile for ages 4 to 11, and $25 for the one-mile walk or the virtual 5K.
2. 10 a.m., Veterans Day Parade. Rolling Thunder Inc. Chapter NC-5 hosts the free parade on Western Boulevard. It starts at Coastal Carolina Community College and runs until 11:30.
3. 11 a.m., the Pow Wow opens. Vendors open at the American Legion Fairgrounds, 146 Broadhurst Road, and the first Grand Entry is at 1 p.m.

The parade's staging explains why the area around the college fills up long before 10. According to Rolling Thunder NC-5's parade page, participants check in at 8 a.m. at the college's north entrance near Smoothie King, arrive as a group by 8:30 and take their lineup positions by 9. The vehicles that bring them are staged at Brynn Marr Shopping Center. The entries are decorated trailers and vehicles plus marching groups, with American flags everywhere. Judges award first-place trailers $100 and a trophy, and second and third place get trophies. That's a lot of people and vehicles converging on one stretch of Western Boulevard in an hour, so plan your Saturday errands with that in mind.

Two Days on Broadhurst Road

The Onslow Veterans Pow Wow is in its sixth year. It's free, and the organizers describe it as a celebration of current and past service members through Native American culture, drawing on a broad range of tribes. One tourism calendar lists it as running November 6 through 8. The organizer's site gives the public dates as Saturday and Sunday, November 7 and 8.

Jacksonville Tourism's itinerary lists Native dance, music, drumming and competition, and suggests that first-time visitors catch a Grand Entry and take a tipi tour. The organizer's vendor list includes Native tacos, BBQ, beadwork and jewelry, plus resource booths that include veterans' services.

Saturday's 7 p.m. Grand Entry is the last evening event of the weekend, and Sunday's 1 p.m. Grand Entry leads into the Pow Wow's 5 p.m. close, which ends the weekend's run of events.

The Museum That Stays Open After the Weekend

The Carolina Museum of the Marine opened to the public on June 8, 2026, at 10 a.m. WCTI covered the June 5 ribbon cutting as the end of a 25-year effort. It's at 109 Montford Landing Road, Building 1775, inside Lejeune Memorial Gardens. The Jacksonville Daily News describes it as an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit rather than a command-operated military museum. Jacksonville Tourism calls it the new addition to this year's tribute.

For the tribute, what matters is the schedule. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the last tickets sold at 4:30, and it's closed Mondays. So it's closed Monday, November 9, and open Wednesday, November 11, on its normal hours. Its posted holiday closures are November 26 and 27 for Thanksgiving, not Veterans Day.

Prebooked groups of 10 or more pay $12 each, and parking is free around the clock.

Inside, The Great Hall opens the visit, and Warriors Hall covers where the Marines came from. Three galleries follow. They Came from the Sea covers the Pacific theater of World War II, with an amphibious vehicle and an immersive Iwo Jima landing. The Marine Corps & the Community is about local Marines and their ties to the area, and includes the Uniform Continuum. Innovation & Evolution runs from Korea to modern conflicts. WCTI's opening coverage also mentions a Vietnam-era Huey and a section called Ties That Bind. Outside, Patriot Park has a monumental Eagle, Globe, and Anchor sculpture and an Eternal Flame.

The Carolina MAGTF Café, presented by the Minges Family, is run by veteran-owned Milk Road. It serves coffee, tea, smoothies and light breakfast and lunch. The museum's own pages list two different sets of café hours, so check before planning lunch there.

The Gardens Carry the Rest of the Week

The museum's spot inside Lejeune Memorial Gardens ties it to the tribute's own landmarks. Through November 11, the Veterans Walk of Honor puts signs honoring individual veterans throughout the Gardens. QR codes along the paths tell the stories of the Montford Point Marine Memorial, the Beirut Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the largest 3-D Eagle, Globe, and Anchor statue. So the self-guided walk and the museum are in the same place, and on November 11 you can do both in one afternoon.

There's more after the weekend, too. From November 9 to 11, the Military Basketball Association Tournament plays at the Jacksonville Commons Recreation Complex. The National Montford Point Marine Association sponsors it, the Eastern North Carolina Marine Basketball Men's Varsity program hosts, and the proceeds go to an Onslow/Jacksonville charity.

Wednesday, November 11

Two public events are listed for Veterans Day. DAV Chapter 16 holds its observance at 300 Sherwood Road from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. It's free and open to the public, and the event page says past ceremonies have included a color guard, music and speakers from the local veteran community. At the same hour, WCTI reports that Mario & Company Barbershop and Onslow Veteran Services will give free haircuts to veterans and neighbors in need at Riverwalk Crossing Park from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., with the barbers donating their time.

City offices are closed on November 11 and reopen November 12. After those midday events, the museum's doors are open until 5.

The holiday season follows quickly. The Jacksonville Onslow Chamber's holiday parade is on the City calendar for November 21 on Western Boulevard, and a Turkey Trot starts at Jacksonville Commons at 8 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning, November 26.

A lot of families in Jacksonville are spending their first Veterans Day here after a PCS move, and some are spending their last one before new orders. Turn-Key Realty works with Camp Lejeune families on both ends of that move. If yours is coming up, start with a home valuation so you know where you stand well before your report date.