Free Picnic at 1 p.m., Ceremony at 2: Flower Mound Honors Veterans on Sunday, Nov. 8

Sunday, Nov. 8 is worth clearing your afternoon for.

The Town of Flower Mound is hosting its annual Veterans Day Ceremony at Flower Mound High School. The day opens with a family picnic from 1 to 2 p.m. — free food — right at the football stadium. No wristband, no registration form, no cost.

At 2 p.m., the ceremony gets underway with a veterans review, remarks from local leaders, and patriotic music. The veterans review features local Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and ROTC units parading in uniform before the veterans. That part alone tends to draw a crowd. Watching kids in uniform walk past the men and women they're honoring lands differently than a speech.

Veterans Day itself falls on Wednesday, Nov. 11, but the Sunday, Nov. 1 timing means families can actually be there together without a school-night crunch. Bring the kids. Bring the grandparents. The stadium has seating, the picnic is casual, and the whole thing wraps by 3 p.m.

If you want to stretch the observance through the week, the Town's Veterans Day Relay Run takes place on Wednesday, Nov. 11. Veterans and their family members carry the American flag along a course through Flower Mound.

Sunday, Nov. 8: Arrive by 1 p.m. for the picnic, or by 2 p.m. for the ceremony. Flower Mound High School Football Stadium. Free, no registration required.