Summer nights at the memorial end with a lighting ceremony honoring veterans and the flag. The state's calendar fills each year with events that draw crowds from far beyond its borders.

A nightly lighting ceremony runs through the summer season.

What sets it apart

The program honors military veterans among the evening crowd. Small as it sounds, it is exactly the sort of thing that defines the experience on the ground.

Independence Day fireworks have returned to the memorial in recent years.

Why it matters

Taken together, these threads say something about South Dakota itself — a place where the old and the new sit close together. For the crowds who return year after year, it has become a fixture of the South Dakota calendar.