Mayor Dominick Pangallo and the City of Salem invites the public to the unveiling and dedication of a memorial honoring community members lost to COVID-19. The event takes place on Friday, September 12, at 9:00 a.m. at Palmer Cove Park, outside Pioneer Terrace Building #5, near the waterfront. 

The memorial was created through a collaboration between the City of Salem’s Department of Planning and Community Development, the Salem Housing Authority, and the Mayor’s Office, and is being installed as part of recent improvements to Palmer Cove Park. 

Salem Poet Laureate J.D. Scrimgeour will share an original work of poetry for the memorial’s dedication, and his words are engraved on the memorial in order to help residents heal. Community members are encouraged to attend, reflect, and honor the resilience of the City of Salem. 

“Around 140 Salem residents were lost to us due to the COVID-19 virus, and all of our lives were turned upside down in one way or another,” said Mayor Pangallo, “This memorial, located in the newly improved Palmer Cove Park, adjacent to beautiful Salem Harbor, offers a space for community members to reflect, remember, and reconnect. I am grateful to members of City of Salem staff, the SHA and the community who worked to create this memorial. I invite all members of the Salem community to visit the memorial, either at the dedication or in the future.”