By Christine Almarines | Published September 2026
Veterans Day 2026 falls on Wednesday, November 11. Here are the Veterans Day Orange County ceremonies and observances, plus the ones just over the line in Los Angeles County — starting closest to Cerritos and Buena Park, and saying honestly which cities haven’t posted their details yet.
Quick answer
Several Veterans Day Orange County observances fall on a different day than November 11. Artesia and La Palma are both on Saturday, November 7, and Buena Park’s honor lunch is Wednesday, November 4. Cerritos holds its ceremony at the Veterans Memorial on November 11 itself.
One thing worth doing today: La Palma’s ceremony requires an RSVP and public registration opens Monday, September 28. Veterans get priority.
Veterans Day Orange County Ceremonies: Confirmed 2026 Dates
| Ceremony | City | 2026 date & time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buena Park Veterans Honor Lunch | Buena Park | Wed, Nov 4, 12pm | Free, registration required |
| Artesia Veteran’s Day Celebration | Artesia | Sat, Nov 7, 10am–1pm | Free |
| La Palma Veterans Day Ceremony | La Palma | Sat, Nov 7, 11am | Free, RSVP from Sept 28 |
| Placentia Veterans Day Ceremony | Placentia | Wed, Nov 11, 10–11am | Free |
| Paramount Veterans Celebration | Paramount | Wed, Nov 11, 10–11:30am | Free, lunch after |
| VA Long Beach Healthcare System | Long Beach | Wed, Nov 11, 10am–2pm | Free |
| Norwalk Veteran’s Day Ceremony | Norwalk | Wed, Nov 11, 11am–1pm | Free, arrive by 10:45 |
| Irvine Veterans Day Ceremony | Irvine | Wed, Nov 11, 11am–12:30pm | Free |
| 37th Annual Veterans Day Program | Lake Forest | Wed, Nov 11, 11am | Free, rain or shine |
| SFV Veterans Day Parade | Pacoima | Wed, Nov 11, 11:11am | Free to watch |
| Mission Viejo Veterans Day Ceremony | Mission Viejo | Wed, Nov 11, time TBD | Sign language interpreted |
| Yorba Linda Veterans Day Ceremony | Yorba Linda | Wed, Nov 11, time TBD | Shade tent provided |
| Santa Fe Springs Veterans Day Program | Santa Fe Springs | Wed, Nov 11, time TBD | Free |
| Nixon Library free admission | Yorba Linda | Wed, Nov 11, 10am–5pm | Free for veterans |
Veterans Day Orange County Ceremonies Closest to Cerritos and Buena Park
Buena Park Veterans Honor Lunch & Resource Fair
Ehlers Event Center, 8150 Knott Avenue, Wednesday, November 4 at noon. Lunch and a resource fair for local veterans, free with registration at 714-236-3870. Note this is Buena Park’s main observance — the city has no separate November 11 ceremony posted. buenapark.com
Artesia Veteran’s Day Celebration
Artesia Park, 18750 Clarkdale Avenue, Saturday, November 7, 10am to 1pm. A community celebration with veteran services booths. Free. cityofartesia.us
La Palma Veterans Day Ceremony
La Palma Community Center at Central Park, 7821 Walker Street, Saturday, November 7 at 11am. A City Council ceremony, free but RSVP required, with veterans given priority. Public registration opens Monday, September 28. lapalmaca.gov
Cerritos Veterans Day Ceremony
Cerritos Veterans Memorial at the Civic Center, 18125 Bloomfield Avenue, on November 11. Free, parking available at the Civic Center, and it runs rain or shine.
In past years the Cerritos College Community Band has played a prelude around 9:45am with the ceremony at 10am, a wreath laying and a moment of silence. Treat that as the usual pattern rather than a confirmed 2026 time — the most recent flyer still posted is from 2024. Check the city calendar in late October. cerritos.gov
Paramount Veterans Celebration
Paramount Armed Forces Memorial, 16400 Colorado Avenue, Wednesday, November 11, 10 to 11:30am. Challenge coins are distributed, and a complimentary lunch follows at the American Legion on Somerset Boulevard. Free.
Careful with this one: Paramount has two live event pages and the older one still shows a 2025 date at City Hall. The 2026 listing is the Armed Forces Memorial. paramountcity.gov
Norwalk Veteran’s Day Ceremony
Held in front of the Norwalk Cultural Arts Center, 13200 Clarkdale Avenue, Wednesday, November 11, 11am to 1pm. Free, and the city asks attendees to arrive by 10:45am.
Note the venue change — this used to be held on the City Hall lawn, and older listings still point there. Norwalk also holds a separate, smaller Veterans Recognition Ceremony at the Norwalk Senior Center, 14040 San Antonio Drive, on Tuesday, November 10 from 3:30 to 5pm. norwalk.org
More Veterans Day Orange County Ceremonies
Placentia Veterans Day Ceremony
Placentia Civic Center, 401 E. Chapman Avenue, Wednesday, November 11, 10 to 11am. Free. placentia.org
Irvine Veterans Day Ceremony
Colonel Bill Barber Marine Corps Memorial Park, 4 Civic Center Plaza, Wednesday, November 11, 11am to 12:30pm. Free. The ceremony moves indoors to City Hall in bad weather. cityofirvine.gov
37th Annual Veterans Day Program — El Toro Memorial Park
25751 Trabuco Road, Lake Forest, Wednesday, November 11 at 11am. Hosted with VFW Post 6024: color guard, recognition of Blue and Gold Star Mothers, wreath presentations and a rifle salute. Free, outdoors, rain or shine. occemeterydistrict.com
Mission Viejo Veterans Day Ceremony
Norman P. Murray Community Center, 24932 Veterans Way, Wednesday, November 11. The start time hasn’t posted for 2026; it has historically been 2pm. Notably, the ceremony features sign language interpretation — one of very few in the region that publishes this. missionviejo.gov
Yorba Linda Veterans Day Ceremony
Yorba Linda Veterans Memorial, 4766 Valley View Avenue, Wednesday, November 11, time still to be posted (historically 2pm). The city sets up a large shade tent, and attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs. yorbalindaveteransmemorial.com
Richard Nixon Library & Museum
18001 Yorba Linda Boulevard. Veterans get free admission all day November 11, 10am to 5pm, with active military free year-round. Visitor parking is free. The 2026 Veterans Day program hadn’t posted as of mid-September, but the admission policy is standing. nixonlibrary.gov
San Fernando Valley Veterans Day Parade
The largest parade in Los Angeles County, stepping off at 11:11am on November 11 from Laurel Canyon and San Fernando Mission Boulevards, ending at Ritchie Valens Park in Pacoima. Free to watch. sfvveteransdayparade.com
VA Long Beach Healthcare System
Lot F2 at 5901 E. Seventh Street, Wednesday, November 11, 10am to 2pm. Free, confirmed on the VA’s own 2026 event page. va.gov
Santa Fe Springs Veterans Day Program
Town Center Plaza, 11740 Telegraph Road, Wednesday, November 11. On the city’s 2026 schedule, though the time hasn’t posted. Past years have run a pancake breakfast 8 to 10am with the ceremony at 10am. santafesprings.gov
Veterans Day Orange County Ceremonies Awaiting 2026 Details
These run every year but hadn’t posted 2026 details as of mid-September, which is normal this far out. Most city calendars fill in around late October.
- Anaheim — Anaheim Veterans Monument, 241 S. Anaheim Boulevard, historically around 11am.
- Fullerton — Hillcrest Park Veterans Memorial. The city page currently says only “November 11th, 2026 — more details coming soon.” Worth noting the parade was discontinued in 2023 and resumed in 2025, so don’t count on one until it’s confirmed.
- Huntington Beach — Pier Plaza, around 11am, with American Legion Post 133.
- Heroes Hall at the OC Fairgrounds, Costa Mesa — typically the Saturday before, roughly noon to 3pm.
- Long Beach — Houghton Park, 6301 Myrtle Avenue. Held on a Saturday rather than November 11.
- Downey — Columbia Memorial Space Center, 12400 Columbia Way. Held November 11 from about 10am to noon in recent years.
- Whittier — Central Park, 13212 Park Street, around 10 to 11:30am in 2025. Whittier tends to post four to six weeks ahead. Note the city’s Peace Memorial is at City Hall, a different site.
- La Mirada — “Salute to Veterans” at Neff Park plus a service at Civic Center Plaza. The city’s site moved to lamirada.gov.
- Carson — Veterans Park, 22400 Moneta Avenue, roughly 10am to noon, free, with new names added to the Veterans’ Wall.
- Hawaiian Gardens — C. Robert Lee Activity Center, 21815 Pioneer Boulevard. Call 562-420-2641 first — the city’s 2026 calendar appears to place this on Friday, November 6 rather than November 11, and no time is posted.
- Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills — Hall of Liberty courtyard, ceremony around 11am.
Accessibility and Parking
This matters to a lot of the people attending, and almost no Veterans Day Orange County organizer publishes it. Here is everything that actually is published:
- Mission Viejo — the ceremony features sign language interpretation.
- Long Beach — ADA parking and paratransit drop-off on Harding Street between Atlantic and Myrtle.
- Yorba Linda — a large shade tent is provided; bring lawn chairs.
- Irvine — moves indoors to City Hall in bad weather.
- Cerritos — parking available at the Civic Center.
- Nixon Library — free visitor parking.
Everywhere else publishes nothing. Most are outdoor plazas and parks on reasonably level ground, but if mobility, seating or shade is a consideration, call the organizer — you’ll get a better answer than any listing can give you.
Before You Go: Corrections Worth Knowing
Veterans Day Orange County listings get copied forward year to year, so some of what circulates is simply wrong:
- Los Angeles National Cemetery has no published Veterans Day ceremony. Its support foundation lists only Memorial Day and December’s Wreaths Across America. The grounds are open sunrise to sunset with ample parking. Call 310-268-4675 before planning around an event there.
- Newport Beach’s Field of Honor is a Memorial Day event in May, not a Veterans Day flag display.
- Westminster’s veterans ceremony is in March — American Vietnam War Veterans Day, March 29, 2026. There’s no November ceremony at the Vietnam War Memorial.
- Cypress and Lakewood hold no Veterans Day ceremony at all. Cypress recognizes veterans year-round at Council meetings; Lakewood’s commemoration is on Memorial Day. If you’ve seen a Lakewood Veterans Day parade online, that’s Lakewood, Ohio or Lakewood, Colorado.
- Garden Grove and Santa Ana mark the day with banner tributes and proclamations rather than public ceremonies.
- Bellflower has a Veterans Memorial but no verified ceremony. The memorial at the Library Garden, 9918 Flower Street, is worth visiting, but no public Veterans Day event appears on the city calendar in 2025 or 2026. Bellflower’s veterans programming is its commemorative brick and banner programs. Call Parks & Recreation at 562-804-1424 if you’ve heard otherwise.
- Confirm anything at a federal site. The November 2025 federal shutdown canceled ceremonies at Riverside National Cemetery and elsewhere. That risk applies to federally run venues — national cemeteries and the Nixon Library — not to city ceremonies.
Veteran Admission and Meals
Veterans Day is a commemoration rather than a promotion, so this is deliberately short — the Veterans Day Orange County ceremonies above are the point of the day. The one offer confirmed on an official source is the Nixon Library’s free admission for veterans on November 11.
Several national restaurant chains run long-standing free-meal programs that day. Rather than repeat terms that may have changed, check the restaurant’s own website in early November — most post their offer and ID requirements a week or two ahead.
Veterans Day Orange County FAQ
When is Veterans Day 2026?
Wednesday, November 11, 2026. Several Orange County and LA County cities hold their ceremonies on a different day — Artesia and La Palma are both Saturday, November 7, and Buena Park’s is Wednesday, November 4.
Is there a Veterans Day ceremony in Cerritos?
Yes, at the Cerritos Veterans Memorial in the Civic Center, 18125 Bloomfield Avenue. It’s free, parking is available on site, and it runs rain or shine. The ceremony has historically begun around 10am following a 9:45 prelude, but confirm the 2026 time on the city calendar in late October.
What is Buena Park doing for Veterans Day 2026?
Buena Park’s main observance is the Veterans Honor Lunch and Resource Fair at the Ehlers Event Center on Wednesday, November 4 at noon. Free, but registration is required at 714-236-3870. The city has no separate November 11 ceremony posted.
Which ceremonies are on November 11 itself?
Placentia at 10am, Paramount from 10 to 11:30am, VA Long Beach from 10am to 2pm, Irvine from 11am to 12:30pm, El Toro Memorial Park in Lake Forest at 11am, and the San Fernando Valley Parade at 11:11am. Cerritos, Mission Viejo, Yorba Linda and Santa Fe Springs also hold theirs on November 11 with times still to be confirmed.
Are any Veterans Day Orange County ceremonies wheelchair accessible or interpreted?
Mission Viejo’s ceremony features sign language interpretation. Long Beach publishes ADA parking and paratransit drop-off on Harding Street. Yorba Linda provides a shade tent and suggests bringing lawn chairs. Most other organizers publish no accessibility details, so calling ahead is worthwhile.
Does Los Angeles National Cemetery hold a Veterans Day ceremony?
No Veterans Day ceremony is currently published for Los Angeles National Cemetery. Its support foundation lists Memorial Day and Wreaths Across America in December. The grounds are open sunrise to sunset. Call 310-268-4675 to confirm before planning a visit around an event.
Do I need to register for any of these?
Two. La Palma’s ceremony requires an RSVP, with public registration opening September 28 and priority for veterans. Buena Park’s honor lunch requires registration at 714-236-3870. The rest are open to attend.
Honoring Local Veterans
If you know of a Veterans Day Orange County ceremony that belongs on this list, or your organization is holding one, let me know and I’ll add it.
I’ll update this guide in late October, once the remaining cities post their 2026 times.
If you’d like to talk about your next move in Southern California real estate, I’d be happy to help.
