Memorial event and more mark anniversary of 2021 Waukesha Christmas Parade tragedy

Jim Riccioli, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
·5 min read
This rendering of Thrive Architect's Main Street memorial, planned for the downtown Waukesha's Five Points intersection, includes six strands noting the deaths of six parade victims in the 2021 Waukesha Christmas Parade. The memorial will be dedicated on Nov. 21, 2023, marking the second anniversary of the tragedy.
This rendering of Thrive Architect's Main Street memorial, planned for the downtown Waukesha's Five Points intersection, includes six strands noting the deaths of six parade victims in the 2021 Waukesha Christmas Parade. The memorial will be dedicated on Nov. 21, 2023, marking the second anniversary of the tragedy.

WAUKESHA - As anniversaries go, this one remains understandably solemn, with reminders of a tragedy that garnered national attention.

But as the Waukesha Christmas Parade tragedy approached its second anniversary on Nov. 21, city officials expressed messages of continued healing while again recalling the moment. On the other hand, a Court TV series reminded a nationwide audience of the October 2022 trial of the man convicted in the six deaths and more than 60 injuries in 2021.

Not surprisingly, such reminders produce mixed feelings.

"I feel profound sadness, because of the suffering and loss endured by so many individuals as well as the pain experienced by our community," Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly said. "My sadness, however, is tempered by the love, compassion and support shown by the community for those who suffered and are still suffering."

A business is lit up in blue in downtown Waukesha as a sign of solidarity during the one-year anniversary of the Christmas Parade tragedy at Cutler Park in Waukesha on Monday, Nov. 21, 2022.
A business is lit up in blue in downtown Waukesha as a sign of solidarity during the one-year anniversary of the Christmas Parade tragedy at Cutler Park in Waukesha on Monday, Nov. 21, 2022.

First of two parade memorials dedicated on 2nd anniversary

In an event again specifically time to coincide with the start of the tragedy in 2021, city officials will officially dedicate the first of two parade memorials. The new Main Street memorial, at one corner of the Five Points intersection, will be the focus of a ceremony beginning at 4:30 p.m. Nov. 21.

The purpose, the city said in a statement, is to "honor the lives we lost, support those who are still suffering, and come together as a community."

Reilly said healing is on ongoing process that even two full years can't cover.

"People that have experienced loss and those who have experienced trauma heal at different paces," Reilly said. "Healing itself is not linear. I think there has been some healing for most. I think our community’s support and the love it has shown has helped immensely, but healing from loss or trauma doesn’t just reach an end. Each individual that was injured, each individual that experienced trauma carries some scar within them for the rest of their lives."

To that end, at the memorial dedication, Healing Hearts and The United for Waukesha Resiliency Center will offer resources and support for those still traumatized by the 2021 tragedy. And blue glow bracelets, a symbol of Waukesha Strong's blue light campaign in 2021 and 2022, will be handed out thanks to Educators Credit Union.

Following the ceremony, attendees can attend a fundraising event tied to the memorials: the engraving of clay tiles for the larger Grede Park parade memorial. The event takes place inside the banquet room of the Clarke Hotel, 314 W. Main St. The cost of each tile is $25.

Thrive Architects' plan for a parade memorial at Grede Park, honoring the six victims killed in the November 2021 attack during the Waukesha Christmas Parade, includes a heart noting the community unity that subsequently emerge. On the second anniversary of the tragedy, the sale of engraved clay tiles to be used as part of that memorial will be sold following a Nov. 21 ceremony dedicated the smaller Main Street memorial.

Larger parade memorial at Grede Park gets help from contractor itself

The more extensive parade memorial at Grede Park now has a lead contractor and a plan to build it, including a personal commitment to do some of the work at no cost to the city on top of the donation it has already made.

Pewaukee-based VJS Construction Services LLC is a partner in the city's effort. City officials are hoping that others sign in with in-kind donations for such work as sidewalks, stairs, retaining walls, metal railings, electrical, earthwork, brick pavers, landscaping and site utilities.

Craig Jorgensen, VJS' president and CEO, said the company's involvement comes with deep feelings.

"As we were part of the many who were personally affected by this tragedy, we felt a strong need to get involved," Jorgensen said. "We’re honored to be provided the opportunity to help build and provide a place of remembrance for the community."

City officials said financial help and more is needed to complete the large memorial at the park, located near the end of West Main Street off Wisconsin and St. Paul avenues.

Monetary donations can be made online at https://www.waukesha-wi.gov/residents/waukesha-parade-memorial.php. Other contractors willing to join in the effort are asked to contact Rebecca Pederson at rpederson@waukesha-wi.gov or 262-524-3906.

It's important to recognize the role and importance of both memorials, said Reilly, adding he is appreciative of VJS' role in the Grede Park site.

"The memorials are important because we need an intentional place created for us to gather, to remember those lost, those injured and those traumatized," he said. "These memorials provide us with a place for healing and the design speaks to the pain we all experienced. The Parade Memorial Commission was purposeful in providing two different locations."

Darrell Brooks makes comments regarding Waukesha County district attorney Susan Opper as he gives his closing remarks during his sentencing in a Waukesha County Circuit Court in Waukesha November 16, 2022. Dozens of people spoke at the sentencing proceedings for Brooks, who is convicted of killing six people and injuring dozens more when he drove his SUV through a Christmas parade in Waukesha in 2021.

Court TV recalls chaotic Brooks trial one year later

Court TV, the multiplatform judicial media company, recently announced a four-episode premiere of a new series, "Victim to Verdict with Ted Rowlands," focusing on high-profile cases in its archives. It saved the most chaotic one for last.

Titled "Christmas Parade Rampage," the hour-long episode that first aired Nov. 5 replayed a string of the more unusual moments in the trial of Darrell Brooks Jr., the Milwaukee man who was ultimately sentenced to six consecutive life terms for the six counts of first-degree intentional homicide plus added time for the 76 criminal counts overall tied to the Waukesha Christmas Parade attack on Nov. 21, 2021.

Among those were scenes of Brooks arguing intensely with Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Dorow, who presided over the October 2022 trial; Dorow order the removal of Brooks to an adjacent courtroom for failing to comply with court decorum and for what she at one point termed "delay tactics" in proceedings; and Brooks removing his shirt and turning his back to the adjacent courtroom's camera.

The episode also brought back interviews with surviving family members of those killed, most notably the parents of Jackson Sparks, the 8-year-old boy who died several days after he was struck by Brooks' red SUV along the parade route.

Video from the trial also showed viewers scenes of that SUV speeding onto the parade route and Brooks' arrest outside a home nearby later that evening.

The episode can be viewed here on Court TV's YouTube channel.

Contact Jim Riccioli at (262) 446-6635 or  james.riccioli@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at  @jariccioli.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Waukesha Christmas Parade tragedy marks 2nd anniversary