On Thursday, September 7 at 5:30 pm, the state holds its annual ceremony honoring and celebrating the lives of those killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

The event takes place at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport. Governor Ned Lamont and Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz invite members of the public to attend. Family members of those killed in the attacks will participate, and the names of the 161 victims with ties to Connecticut will be read aloud.

On a clear day from the peninsula on Sherwood Island where the memorial is located, the Manhattan skyline can be viewed across Long Island Sound. In the hours immediately following the attacks, people gathered there to observe the devastation in Lower Manhattan, and the site was used by the Connecticut National Guard as a staging area for Connecticut’s relief efforts.

Each year, the state holds its ceremony days before the actual anniversary to accommodate family members and friends of the victims. Many people from Connecticut who lost loved ones also attend the annual ceremony that is held on September 11 at the site of the World Trade Center.