The eighth annual Wreath Laying Ceremony honoring over 5,000 Kern County veterans and spouses interred at the Bakersfield National Cemetery (BNC) will take place on Saturday, December 17, at 8:55 a.m.

 

Although the actual ceremonies do not begin until 8:55 a.m., family members are invited to arrive between 7:15 and 8:15 a.m. to allow time for them to place wreaths on the grave sites of their loved ones prior to the public ceremony.

 

Evergreen wreaths will be laid at grave sites on the 500-acre cemetery at the intersection of Highways 58 and 223, about 25 miles east of Bakersfield. The event is part of the National Wreaths Across America Day, during which similar ceremonies will be held at national and veterans' cemeteries, and other locations, in all 50 states.

 

The ceremony will last approximately 15 minutes. Afterwards, local Boy Scouts will hand out wreaths for family members to place on the grave site of their loved ones, as well as to hand out wreaths to volunteers to place on remaining grave sites after the ceremony.   

 

Coffee and hot chocolate will be available. Shuttle busses will run continuously to take people from the parking area to the assembly area, down to the wreath distribution point, and then back to the parking area.