SARANAC LAKE – An annual start-of-the-summer tradition will take place again Monday when the Saranac Lake Youth Baseball and Softball Association hosts its Red Wilcox Memorial Day Classic.

The event will feature baseball games and contests at the Rotary Field next to the Saranac Lake Civic Center on Ampersand Avenue and the Elks Field off of John Munn Road.

“It’s an all-day event for all age groups, kind of a family baseball event for Memorial Day,” said Mark Gillis, the association’s president. “Growing up as a kid, on Memorial Day I think of baseball.”

The day will begin with the association’s kids, from all levels, marching in the Memorial Day Parade, which starts at 10:45 a.m. at Hyde Mobil on Broadway. Dressed in their baseball and softball uniforms, the kids will march down Broadway and Main Street to the Memorial Day observance in Riverside Park.

The festivities at Rotary Field begin at 12:45 p.m. with an opening ceremony. A member of the Wilcox family will throw out the first pitch. The classic was named in 2014 for Wilcox, who umpired youth baseball and softball games for decades and was a fixture on the local youth sports scene. He died in March 2014 at age 86.

This year’s opening ceremony will also honor the late Richard “Dick” Zerrahn, who died in February of this year at age 66. A physical education teacher for 32 years in the Saranac Lake Central School District, Zerrahn was also a long-time and dedicated baseball, basketball and youth sports coach who coached more than 100 teams and thousands of student-athletes. A member of his family will also throw out a pitch to officially open the 2017 youth baseball and softball season.

Following the ceremony, the association’s minor league teams will play exhibition games on the Elks and Rotary fields, starting at approximately 1 p.m.

At the same time, T-ball and rookie (coach-pitch) league-age kids can participate in a series of games including longest hit off the tee, farthest thrown ball and fastest around the bases on the field adjacent to Rotary, where the outdoor ice rink is in winter. Prizes will be awarded to the winners.

Later in the day, the association’s two major league teams will play exhibition games at the Rotary and Elks field. There will be a separate ceremony before these games, starting at approximately 3 p.m., featuring a moment of silence for the late Gracee Jewtraw, who died in July of last year at age 10 after a two-year battle with brain cancer. Jewtraw threw out a first pitch at last year’s Memorial Day Classic.

Town of Harrietstown Councilman Ed Goetz will throw out a first pitch for this year’s majors exhibition game. The town has spearheaded and funded a series of upgrades to both the Elks and Rotary fields in recent years.

A barbecue will also take place at Rotary Field throughout the afternoon. Donations will be accepted. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend the festivities.