OCEAN COUNTY – Mother Nature in the form of a nor’easter rained on the Columbus Day Parade – pushing it back a week – so the crowds came out two weekends in a row to Grant Avenue in Seaside Heights for some fall fun.
The postponement may have been a blessing in disguise allowing for Italian Americans and those who were Italian-for-a-day to enjoy the street fair and the parade on a gorgeous autumn day.
Ocean County Columbus Day Parade and Italian Heritage Festival Committee Chairman Michael Blandina, Brick, noted “three times it has been postponed and canceled – once because of Covid. We have to reconfigure both the festival set up and the parade lineup. It’s not like you take out a magic wand and everything simply falls into place.”
“Even with the initial parade and festival, people have no concept what it takes in planning – weeks and months in some instances – to put the line or march together, so you have a properly smooth-flowing parade,” he added. “Likewise with the festival you have to juggle the food, the snacks, the crafter – as well as the expo mercantile vendors.”
Blandina said, “the entertainment is also very important and has to be set up accordingly. The entertainment is also very expensive. We want to make the event aesthetically pleasing. That’s the one thing I will say we do better than most and we hear it all the time and time again from vendors and people who attend the festival and also attend other festivals.”
This marked the 34th annual parade which featured floats, area high school bands, antique cars, contests, clowns, and various organizations including representation from several Italian-American Clubs in Ocean County.
The mistress of ceremonies was Maria Maruca, well known for her family’s pizzeria business, a former councilwoman of Toms River and her involvement with various events in Seaside Heights.
Bob LaTorre’, who was the borough’s long time public affairs director was the original parade moderator. Maruca said after he died Wayne Cimorelli (a long-time Seaside Heights business owner known for the Coin Castle Arcade and the Spicy Bar & Lounge [Spicy Cantina] on the boardwalk) and Ocean County Freeholder/Commissioner Virginia “Ginny” Haines filled in back in 2016. Maruca took over after that.
“I am grateful for the good weather. We would have been freezing last week in the rain,” Maruca said. “We have 65% of the vendors who came back and we picked up a few new vendors who were on the waiting list who they couldn’t fit in last week.”
The street fair offered wine tasting, children’s activities like pony rides and inflatable bounce attractions and plenty of food vendors. Along with zeppole, pizza, and sausage and pepper sandwiches, you could also grab a gyro from the Greek2Me. There were jewelry stands, radio station staff promoting a raffle and St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital promoting their efforts to aid children. Craft items and infused gummy bears were available, as well as the Cartoon Man who did caricatures of attendees.
This year’s parade marshal duties were shared by the husband-and-wife team of Anthony and Kendra Zarrilli of Brick. They own Zarrilli Homes, LLC, Mantoloking Road Alehouse and the Mantoloking Road Playhouse in Brick. They enjoyed marching up the street, waving to the crowd.
Blandina remarked that “Anthony and Kendra stood out among this year’s nominees because of their commitment to the community and to family.”
The parade kicked off with EMS, Police and Fire Department vehicles from Seaside Park, Seaside Heights, Lavallette and Brick. Local officials such as Seaside Park Mayor John Peterson and Lavallette Council President Anita Zalom were there along with Shriners driving their go cart vehicles, a clown, a trio of pirates, the Hegeman String Band of Philadelphia, vintage cars and many other groups.
Carrabba’s Italian Grill sponsored a float that featured Christopher Columbus himself. The Seaside Italian American Club also had a float in the parade as did the Seaside Heights Education Association which featured staff and students from the Hugh J. Boyd Elementary School.
A large yellow uniformed group called Falun Dafa brought a different cultural aspect to the parade which also included a group of dancers. Falun Dafa is a Chinese spiritual practice that involves five sets of slow-moving exercises and meditation.
The parade concluded with a float featuring Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus on a sleigh with reindeer and a penguin reminding everyone another holiday was coming up in December.
“We are happy to say the Ocean County Columbus Day Parade and Italian Festival has become one of the most popular ethnic cultural festivals in the state. The committee which consists of a small group of volunteers give up hours of their time to make these events memorable for those attending every year,” Blandina noted.
