The Naperville Salute is a family-friendly Independence Day hometown celebration, centered around appreciation for veterans, active military, first responders, and their families. The Salute blends community, local entertainment, and family fun.
A weekend full of activities in Naperville
Hosted on July 5-7 at Rotary Hill, The Naperville Salute offers music, food and family fun. “As part of the Naperville community and as a veteran, the salute event is perhaps the most important show of appreciation for our veterans that the Naperville community puts together,” says Leo Jamie, a Marine Veteran and Commander of the Naperville VFW.
The weekend will also feature a ruck march. “Sunday morning we kick off with a ruck,” says Michele Clemen, co-chair of the 2024 Naperville Salute, “which is roughly a 5K march with weighted packs. Very military focused, and that’s kind of where it all stemmed from, is from some of the marches that our active duty military men and women participate in and on a regular basis…Registration is at 8:30, steps off around 10:00, and ends at the top of Rotary Hill. where we’ll have a DJ ready to set, ready to perform. And then our first band will start at 1:00 that da,. and then we’ll carry on throughout the day on Sunday.”
The Salute benefits Naperville Responds for Veterans
Naperville Responds For Veterans assists veterans and their families in need, especially those with low and moderate income, by raising donations of money, building materials, and professional labor, and coordinating the process of repairing, building, and donating homes. Naperville Responds For Veterans is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization.
