In St. Cloud, Veterans Day Morning Ends in the Park Where the Veterans Market Lives
November 5, 2026
November 5, 2026
This Saturday, Nov. 7, Veterans Day in St. Cloud covers three events in one morning. The VFW's St. Cloud Veterans Day Ruck starts things off. The St. Cloud Veterans Council's parade follows through downtown. After that comes a Veteran's Resource Fair at Veterans Park that runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., according to the Osceola News-Gazette.
The last stop matters most. Veterans Park is where the city now holds the Soldier City Market on the second and fourth Saturdays of every month, with veterans resources at every session. The parade is the one morning a year the whole city shows up. The park is where the same support stays on the calendar for the other eleven months.
The nickname has a paper trail. Osceola History traces St. Cloud's founding to a retirement community for Union veterans of the Civil War. Advertisements in national Grand Army of the Republic publications brought veterans and their families starting in 1909. The local GAR post, the Lucius L. Mitchell Post, was chartered on Jan. 4, 1910 with 86 members.
So recruiting veterans and serving them is how the city began. More than a century later, the work of serving them has moved from fraternal halls to a city-run program with a regular schedule, a fixed location and a staff phone line.
The morning runs in order, and each part hands off to the next:
The fair is aimed at more than veterans. The News-Gazette describes it as bringing together veterans, military members, their families and the wider community. A family that came to watch the parade can stay for the benefits and employment tables at Veterans Park once the parade is over. For the questions that come up there, the fair line is 407-957-7243.
Nov. 7 is busy elsewhere in St. Cloud too. C.A.S.T. for Kids, presented by Farm Bureau Insurance, holds a morning of fishing at Hickory Tree Pond for children with special needs. Event coordinator Carol McCorkle takes questions at 407-325-8954 or [email protected].
The phone number for the Resource Fair is also the number the city lists for Soldier City Market vendors, 407-957-7243. It points to the same Veterans Park program, and that program has been taking shape for a year.
It started in 2025. Minutes from that year's Veterans Advisory Board meeting describe a proposal for a weekly, veterans-focused event called Soldier City Sundays at Veterans Park, running 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The plan called for the Pledge of Allegiance, the National Anthem, a Color Guard, family activities and a veteran honor, with a launch set for Nov. 9, 2025. Spectrum News 13 reported the debut as a weekly market meant to connect veterans with health, mental health, housing and other resources.
In June 2026, the city changed both the day and the frequency. Positively Osceola reported that the new schedule began June 27:
"The market replaces the former Soldier City Sundays program and now takes place on the second and fourth Saturday of each month. City leaders hope the new schedule makes it easier for residents to attend and support local businesses."
The current version is free and runs 9 a.m. to noon at Veterans Park, 1201 13th Street. It brings together local vendors, live entertainment and community organizations, with veterans resources available throughout.
| Soldier City Sundays, 2025 | Soldier City Market, 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Day | Sundays | 2nd and 4th Saturdays |
| Frequency | Weekly | Twice a month |
| Hours | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. | 9 a.m. to noon |
| Location | Veterans Park | Veterans Park, 1201 13th Street |
| Format | Pledge, anthem, Color Guard, family activities, veteran honor | Local vendors, live entertainment, community organizations, veterans resources |
The 2026 version meets less often and for fewer hours. It also moved to Saturday mornings, when the rest of the week's errands get done. The veterans resources come along to every session, so a market trip and a benefits question can now happen on the same morning. On Nov. 7, the Resource Fair that follows the parade takes place in that same park.
On the second-and-fourth-Saturday schedule, November's markets land on Nov. 14 and Nov. 28, and the chamber calendar lists both dates. That puts Veterans Park on the calendar for three of the month's four Saturdays. The 28th is the Saturday after Thanksgiving. That's useful to know if you're hosting family and want a free, outdoor morning within the city.
| Date | Event | Where | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 7 | VFW St. Cloud Veterans Day Ruck, then the Veterans Day Parade | From the VFW hall, then downtown St. Cloud | 9:00 a.m. on the city agenda; 10 a.m. in the News-Gazette |
| Sat., Nov. 7 | Veteran's Resource Fair | Veterans Park, 1200 14th St. | 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 7 | C.A.S.T. for Kids | Hickory Tree Pond | Morning |
| Tue., Nov. 10 | Breakfast with the Pros | VFW Hall Post 3227, 915 New York Ave. | 8 a.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 14 | Soldier City Market | Veterans Park, 1201 13th Street | 9 a.m. to noon |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Soldier City Market | Veterans Park, 1201 13th Street | 9 a.m. to noon |
The VFW hall's busy week continues past the parade. On Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 8 a.m., Post 3227 hosts St. Cloud Main Street's Breakfast with the Pros. City Manager Veronica Miller will give a City of St. Cloud update, and Mike Goman and Ken Pierce of Goman + York will also speak. Registration is through St. Cloud Main Street.
One small errand overlaps the first two weeks of the month. Through Nov. 14, Osceola County's Office of Sustainability is collecting pumpkins and other fall gourds for compost at the St. Cloud Library and Sunbridge Base Camp, 6197 Cyrilis Dr. Painted, glittered or decorated pumpkins aren't accepted.
If you'd like to have a table at a future market, the city's vendor contact is Patty DeFalco at [email protected] or 407-957-7243.
At Glasstone Real Estate, we follow the St. Cloud calendar the way our neighbors do, Saturday by Saturday, in English and Portuguese. If you'd like a short note when the Veterans Park schedule or other local events change, along with our exclusive listings in Soldier City, sign up to Receive Exclusive Listings.
