Here's a roundup of our area's 9/11 commemoration ceremonies and activities:
• The American Legion Post 110 in Port Charlotte will have a 9/11 Commemoration ceremony at 11 a.m. Sept. 11 at the post, 3152 Harbor Blvd.
The service includes speakers representing the branches of the military. The keynote speaker is Charlotte County Commissioner Stephen R. Deutsch. Hot dogs and hamburgers will be served at the service.
• Englewood Area Fire Control District will hold its commemoration at 9:30 a.m.
Sept. 11 at the Englewood Freedom Pavilion and Veterans Memorial, 641 W. Dearborn St., Englewood. Everyone is invited to join the service.
• North Port Fire Rescue will host a brief, private virtual event the morning of Sept. 11 with a flag raising, ringing of the bell, and a few comments.
People may watch via live video beginning at 9 a.m. at https://fb.me/e/XsHiTlj5.
Also throughout the day, the fire department’s own piece of the Twin Towers will be on display outside the front of City Hall. The North Port Fire Rescue Honor Guard will present a virtual version of the 11th annual Remember the Fallen Memorial 5K Run. Find more details at runsignup.
com/Race/FL/NorthPort/ RemembertheFallen5K MemorialRun.
• DeSoto County Fire Rescue will hold a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony at 9 a.m. Sept. 11 on the lawn outside the DeSoto County Courthouse, 115 E. Oak St., Arcadia. In attendance will be DeSoto County Fire Rescue, DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office, Arcadia Police Department, The American Legion Honor Guard Post 11 and The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2824. For more info, contact DeSoto County Fire Rescue Administration at 863-993-4842.
• Venice will have a 9/11 commemoration ceremony at 10:30 a.m. Sept. 11 at Patriot’s Plaza, 800 Venetia Bay Blvd., near the intersection of U.S.
41 Bypass North and U.S. 41 Business. Planned speakers include a Venice police community relations officer who was a police officer in New York during 9/11 and a person who witnessed the Twin Towers fall from a couple of blocks away.
Cold water will be provided
at the ceremony. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs.
• Rotonda West American Legion Post 113 will be have a 9/11 ceremony at 11 a.m. Sept. 11 at the Veterans Memorial Park beside their post, 3436 Indiana Road, Rotonda West. Please RSVP by calling 941-697-3616.
• Englewood AmVets Post 777
will commemorate 9/11 with a flag ceremony between noon and 1 p.m. Sept. 11 at the flagpole in front of the post, 3386 N.
Access Road, Englewood. The post will have food and beverages following the ceremony.
For more information, call 941-460-8755
• St. Max Catholic Church in Port Charlotte will have a Blue Mass at 8 a.m. Sept. 10 to honor the fallen and recognize all law and emergency management personnel. First responders are invited along with retired fire, police, port authority, paramedics, EMTs, FEMA, rescue and recovery, and National Guard workforce. For more info, email parishoffice@stmaxcatholic.org.
• Sonrise Baptist Church,
11050 Willmington Blvd., Englewood, will commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11 with Blue Sunday on Sept. 12.
There will be a service at 10:15 a.m. Sunday. The church is inviting all first responders, including law enforcement, fire personnel, paramedics and EMTs, ER nurses and hospital workers, to come for a free meal for you and your family provided by Uncle Franks Food Truck from noon to 6 p.m. at the church.
• The Sarasota Ministerial Association, along with Sarasota County Emergency Services and Fire department representatives, will commemorate 9/11 at 6 p.m.
Sept. 11 at the Patriot Plaza in Sarasota National Cemetery, 9810 State Road 72, Sarasota.
Attendees may choose to represent a person from among the 3,042 who were killed that day by standing at the appropriate time during the ceremony. Learn more about the commemoration, about how you or your group may volunteer or participate, and to select names of the deceased at https://bit.ly/911FREETickets.
• The Military Heritage Museum,
900 W. Marion Ave., in Punta Gorda, will host an all-day commemorative event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 11 to pay special tribute to all first responders for their service.
Events that will be free to everyone include a 9/11 Remembrance Exhibit, available for viewing from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. that day, and a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony in the Gulf Theater from 10 a.m.-11 a.m. Highlights of the ceremony will include opening comments by Punta Gorda Police Officer Brandon Meddaugh, followed by the Punta Gorda Fire Department Color Guard presenting the colors, and an opening prayer by Chaplain Carlo Gargiulo.
After a proclamation from the city by Mayor Lynne Matthews, there will be reflections from 9/11 from survivors, including Gargiulo who was on scene at the Twin Towers, and then from Phillip W. Hill, a retired colonel who was in the Pentagon that day.
Both the Punta Gorda fire and police chiefs are expected to speak as well.
Events that require admission include a documentary film shown at 1 p.m. in the Gulf Theater entitled “102 Minutes that Changed America,” and an exhibit in the Academy Library featuring 9/11 newspapers from 2001, available for viewing from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $12, $10 for veterans and active duty, first responders and youth ages 5-13. Annual members cost is $5. No fee for children under 5, sustaining members and first responders.
For more information or reservations, visit www.militaryheritagemuseum.org or call 941-575-9002.