MEMORIAL DAY is Monday, and a host of commemorative events are planned in the Fredericksburg area. Here is a sample of this weekend’s celebrations to honor our fallen soldiers:

FRIDAY

Thunder for the Cause, Fredericksburg Fairgrounds, 2400 Airport Ave. Bike show, bike rodeo, barrel race, waitress tray race, FMX stunt show, beer belly contest, bikini contest, motorcade to Washington (Sunday). 6–11 p.m. $10 each day or $20 for a three-day pass, ages 5 and younger free. Runs through May 25. thunderforthecause.com.

Rolling Thunder, Old Mine Ranch, 17504 Mine Road, Dumfries. Live music, bonfire, vendors, food. Weekend camping: $20 person/$30 couple; day passes $10. 540/628-0907; packitvnvmc@comcast.net.

SATURDAY

Memorial Day Activities, Historic Ellwood Manor. Friends of Wilderness Battlefield volunteer Dale Brown will give a talk on “Archeology at Ellwood” at noon; music by Evergreen Shade at 2 p.m.; “Last Days of Stonewall Jackson,” by the Fredericksburg Spotsylvania National Military Park Service at 3:30 p.m. House tours 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free. 540/226-8378; fowb.org.

Fifth annual Fredericksburg City and Confederate Cemetery Tour, William Street and Washington Avenue. Walking tour led by local amateur historian Dan “BigFrench” Janzegers. The tour covers notables, military and local citizens’ burials. New research from the past year highlighted. 6:30–8 p.m. Donations to the Fredericksburg City Cemetery welcome. Rain date: May 25, 6:30 p.m. This is in conjunction with the annual luminaria within the Fredericksburg Confederate Cemetery hosted by the Fredericksburg United Daughters of the Confederacy.

Memorial Luminaria, Fredericksburg Confederate Cemetery, William Street and Washington Avenue. Period music, color and rifle guards, taps and the luminaries, which will be lit at dusk. Sponsored by the Fredericksburg Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. 6–10 p.m. Free. Rain date: May 25, 6 p.m.

Annual Lumination, Fredericksburg National Cemetery, Sunken Road and Lafayette Boulevard. Memorial tribute to the soldiers buried in the cemetery. 9 p.m.

Thunder for the Cause, Fredericksburg Fairgrounds. See Friday’s listing.

Rolling Thunder, Old Mine Ranch, Dumfries. See Friday’s listing.

SUNDAY

“Battle of Falling Waters 1863: Custer, Pettigrew and the End of the Gettysburg Campaign,” Graffiti House, 19484 Brandy Road, Brandy Station, Culpeper. Light refreshments. 2 p.m. Donations accepted. brandystationfoundation.com.

Band of America’s Few, National Museum of the Marine Corps, 18900 Jefferson Davis Highway, Triangle. Traditional and patriotic music. 10:30 a.m. to noon. 703/784-6116; usmcmuseum.org.

Thunder for the Cause, Fredericksburg Fairgrounds. Motorcade to Washington. See Friday’s listing.

Rolling Thunder, Old Mine Ranch, Dumfries. See Friday’s listing.

MONDAY

Memorial Day Ceremony: “Honoring the Fallen Through Our Actions,” Fredericksburg Area War Memorial Park, George, Barton and Liberty streets. Speakers, flyover by the Experimental Aircraft Association. Hosted by Fredericksburg Area Veterans Council. 2:30–3:30 p.m.

Rappahannock POPS Orchestra, Mary Washington Hospital, Ambulatory Care Entrance, 1001 Sam Perry Blvd. Bring a chair and picnic. 6 p.m. Free. Rain location: Grace Center of the Arts, 1141 Heatherstone Drive, Spotsylvania.

Ladies Memorial Association’s 148th Observance of Memorial Day, Fredericksburg Confederate Cemetery. Speaker will be J. Terry Dougherty, director of the Spotsylvania County Museum. 10 a.m. Rain location: Historic Kenmore, 1201 Washington Ave.

Memorial Day Ceremony, Fredericksburg National Cemetery at noon. Ed Bearss, a Marine Corps veteran of World War II and military historian, will be keynote speaker. The ceremony will be preceded by a procession through the streets, led by the re-created 23rd United States Colored Troops. The procession will depart from Shiloh Baptist Church (Old Site), 801 Sophia St., at 11:15 a.m. 540/373-6122.

Memorial Day March. Beginning at 9 a.m. at the Fredericksburg Masonic Cemetery, George and Charles streets, Fredericksburg Masonic Lodge members will honor their members from Fredericksburg’s past. At 9:15 a.m., a public procession, led by the Masons, will march to the Hugh Mercer statue on Washington Street (trolley provided for those who cannot march), where J. Robert DuBois will offer an oration recognizing those who sacrificed everything.

Rolling Thunder, Old Mine Ranch, Dumfries. See Friday’s listing.

Memorial Day Service,  11 a.m. at Shiloh Cemetery,  Littlepage Street and Monument Ave. Minister Julian Ferguson of Shiloh Baptist Church will be speaker. Inclement weather: Shiloh Baptist Church (new site), 525 Princess Anne St.