Sarasota will mark 25 years since the Sept. 11 attacks with a free ceremony at Patriot Plaza, the 2,800-seat amphitheater at Sarasota National Cemetery.

The commemoration runs from 5 to 6:15 p.m. Friday, Sept. 11, at the cemetery, 9810 State Road 72. The Sarasota Ministerial Association, the Diocese of Venice and Sarasota County Emergency Services are organizing the event, Your Observer reported.

The groups have staged a large ceremony at five-year intervals since the attacks. The tradition began on the afternoon of Sept. 11, 2001, when then-Mayor Carolyn Mason called Chaplain Tom Pfaff, president of the ministerial association, to organize a prayer service. More than 21 clergy gathered at Chaplain J.D. Hamel Park that evening.

Mason will return for the 2026 ceremony to read a letter President George W. Bush sent her after leaving Sarasota abruptly on the morning of the attacks. She had welcomed Bush to the city on Sept. 10, 2001. Mason told Your Observer she keeps coming back out of duty, community and humanity.

Former Sarasota Police Chief Peter Abbott, who was an NYPD first responder at Ground Zero, will also speak. Abbott served as executive officer to the NYPD's first deputy commissioner on Sept. 11, 2001, and later led the Sarasota Police Department from 2002 to 2010.

"It's not a pleasant thing to remember, but it's an important thing to remember," Abbott told Your Observer.

He said many friends from his NYPD days have since developed cancers and other health problems linked to the attacks.

The program also includes Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt Hoffman, police and fire chiefs, commissioners, clergy and the Ensemble of First United Methodist Church. New York firefighter Johnny Schroeder, who has participated in past Sarasota ceremonies, returns for the event.

Former Sarasota City Commissioner Danny Bilyeu will play taps. He has sounded those 24 notes at local Veterans Day and Memorial Day events for more than 20 years, honoring his father, a U.S. Navy veteran who survived a kamikaze attack during World War II.

Organizers are asking attendees to "adopt" one of the 2,977 people killed in the attacks by looking up a name on the event's registration page beforehand. Guests can bring a photo or memorabilia to display in a Fallen Photo Gallery on site. Those who arrive without a name will be assigned one at the entrance.

Each attendee will receive a carnation. During the tolling of the bell, a tradition honoring firefighters killed in the line of duty, guests are invited to stand and say aloud the name of the person they adopted.

First responders, veterans, active-duty military, Elks Lodge members and 9/11 survivors and families will receive commemorative coins marking both the 25th anniversary of the attacks and the nation's 250th anniversary.

Admission is free. Guests placing memorabilia in the photo gallery should arrive before 4:55 p.m.