20th Anniversary of 9/11: Bay Area Events & Memorials (2021)

By Astrid Casimire Bay City News Foundation

Around the Bay Area, various cities, police and fire departments will commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11 on Saturday with service events, flag ceremonies and memorials.

The events will honor the thousands of people who died during the attacks, including 343 New York City firefighters.

All events are Saturday, September 12, 2021 unless otherwise noted.

Clayton

The Contra Costa County Fire Protection District will host a memorial display on the front lawn of Fire Station 11, 6500 Center St., Clayton. Community members are invited to visit the display, which opened Thursday and will be available through Monday.

The display features the names and some faces of the first responders who died during the attacks 20 years ago. The display is an opportunity to learn about the lives of the firefighters and police officers of New York and New Jersey who died.

Danville

The Exchange Club of San Ramon Valley will hold a remembrance ceremony at 4:20 p.m. Saturday at Oak Hill Park, 3005 Stone Valley Road, Danville. The event features a flyover and a procession of the Scouts with American Flags Program and keynote speech by retired Maj. David Yuers, who worked for the U.S. Air Force.

Fairfield

Fairfield’s Fire and Police Department will hold a remembrance ceremony at 7 a.m. Saturday at the Police Department Flagpole, 1000 Webster St., Fairfield. The event includes an invocation by the Fire Department’s chaplain, remarks from the chief of the police department and a bell ringing and flag ceremony.

Hayward

There will be a community gathering and candlelight vigil at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the new Heritage Plaza, 835 C Street, Hayward.
Community members are invited to walk the plaza and leave memories and messages at memorial stations to honor people who were killed during the 2001 attacks. At 7:21 p.m., the candlelight vigil will begin with a moment of silence in the southeast corner of the plaza.

Los Gatos

The Veterans Memorial and Support Foundation will host a ceremony at the Flame of Liberty Memorial at the Los Gatos Civic Center, 110 E. Main St., Los Gatos. There will also be a tribute concert at 12:30 p.m. at the same location. Visit https://honoravet.org/ for more information.

Carmel-by-the-Sea

At 9 a.m. on Saturday, there will be a memorial ceremony at Devendorf Park in Carmel. U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valey, will be a featured speaker.

Oakland (Friday, September 10)

Oakland city officials and public safety leaders will hold a memorial event Friday at Lake Merritt to honor the lives lost during the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The memorial event is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. at the Lake Merritt Amphitheater between 12th Street and First Avenue.

Representatives from the Oakland Fire and Police departments will also be on hand to honor the victims and first responders. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and several other public officials are scheduled to make remarks at the memorial event. There will also be a moment of silence to honor the victims following the remarks.

Palo Alto and East Palo Alto

Youth Community Service will coordinate the 2021 Mid-Peninsula National Day of Service and Remembrance on Saturday. There will be multiple sites and times for volunteer service in East Palo Alto and Palo Alto.

Projects include food drives, card making, mural painting, gardening and clean-ups. Details and registration. People can also email ycs@youthcommunityservice.org or call (650) 858-8019 for more information. Volunteers are required to wear masks.

The Day of Service is the beginning of the week-long celebration “Palo Alto Together Again.”

There will also be a multi-faith peace picnic and prayer service to honor the victims of 9/11 from 5:45 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. at King Plaza, 250 Hamilton Ave., Palo Alto. The service is organized by the American Muslim Voice Foundation and Multifaith Voices for Peace and Justice.

Register for the free service.

Pleasanton

The Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department will host a remembrance ceremony outdoors at all 10 fire stations. The ceremony begins at 9:45 a.m. Saturday.

Community members, elected officials and city employees are all invited to attend the fire station of their choosing. There will be a moment of silence at 9:59 a.m.

Alameda County District 1 Supervisor David Haubert will also host a memorial ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Alameda County Fairgrounds Amphitheatre, 4501 Pleasanton Ave., Pleasanton. Attendees can park at the ACE Train Parking lot and enter at the Yellow Gate on Pleasanton Avenue.

There will be speakers from the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, Alameda County Fire Department, Pleasanton-Livermore Fire Department, Camp Parks and a special guest speaker.

Register for the in-person event. Register for the Zoom broadcast

Salinas

The Salinas Fire Department and Police Department will hold a remembrance ceremony for the public at 10 a.m. Saturday. The event takes place at the Salinas Fire Station 1, 216 W. Alisal St. and COVID-19 safety protocols and space restrictions will be in place.

Community members and local fire and law enforcement agencies are invited to attend. There will be light refreshments.

San Francisco

• SFFD Ceremony – The San Francisco Fire Department will hold a Remembrance Ceremony on the 20th Anniversary of the tragic attacks of September 11th, 2001. The ceremony will take place at 1251 3rd Street, San Francisco, CA 94158 on Saturday, September 11th, 2021 at 6:45 am.
• Meal-Packing Volunteer Event at Palace of Fine Arts – A meal-packing volunteer event takes place at the Palace of Fine Arts at 3601 Lyon St. starting at 8 a.m. Volunteers will pack meals for people in need, working in two-hour shifts at 8 a.m., 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
  Volunteers and media will need proof of full COVID-19 vaccination and masks to participate. People can register for the event and view volunteer shifts at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bay-area-meal-pack-for-911-day-tickets-164875351615?discount=Public. Special guests at the event include Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, who will speak and pack meals at the 8 a.m. shift. The event is organized by 9/11 Day, the national nonprofit in charge of the federal 9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance, along with HandsOn Bay Area and Kids Around The World.

San Jose

The San Jose Fire Department will host its 2021 Patriot Day 20th Year Commemoration event on Saturday at 9:45 a.m. First responders will gather and process from South Market Street and West San Fernando Street to Fire Station 1.

Afterward, there will be a brief outdoor ceremony at 10:10 a.m. and a reception at 11 a.m. at the San Jose Fire Museum at 201 N. Market St.

Parking is available downtown and at the Fourth and St. John Garage, 50 N. Fourth St.

A virtual livestream of the event is available via Facebook at www.facebook.com/SanJoseFD, via Zoom at bit.ly/21SJFD911 or via phone by calling (877) 853-5257 and entering webinar ID 943 8643 0680.

Santa Clara

The Santa Clara Fire and Police Department Honor Guard units will hold a remembrance ceremony at the Santa Clara City Hall flagpole on Saturday morning. The joint flag ceremony takes place at 6:59 a.m.

The short event will conclude with bagpipes. Attendees are encouraged to wear masks.

The event will be live-streamed on the Santa Clara Fire Department’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SantaClaraFD. Video recordings will be available after the event on the city of Santa Clara’s website, Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Union City

There will be a memorial ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Flight 93 Memorial at Sugar Mill Landing Park, Union City. The park is located on the back side of the Union Landing Shopping Center.

The ceremony will be shortened due to the pandemic and will include a statement from Vice Mayor Pat Gacoscos and memorial creator Michael Emerson and an invocation from Reverend Albert Valencia.

To RSVP for the ceremony or ask questions, contact Lauren Sugayan at (510) 675-5400 or laurens@unioncity.org.

Union City’s Flight 93 Memorial is the first Flight 93 memorial in the country.

The memorial comprises granite stones with the names of the passengers and crew members who died on United Airlines Flight 93, which terrorists hijacked on its way to San Francisco International Airport from Newark Liberty International Airport. The plane crashed in western Pennsylvania on the morning of 9/11.

People are welcome to visit the memorial throughout the day.
Visit https://www.unioncity.org/Calendar.aspx?EID=1023&month=9&year=2021&day=11&calType=0 for more information.

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