Aside from honoring Irish heritage next Saturday, March 10, the St. Patrick’s Parade in Jersey City will also concentrate on American pride as it recognizes the people most affected by the events of Sept. 11, the victims’ families.
Katherine Macchi, who will host the parade, to be broadcast on Comcast, said that many families have declined to participate but supported the idea. While the details of their participation haven’t been clearly designated, parade officials said the families could lead the march with a banner signifying who they are.
Michael Collum, general chair of the parade, said he received a letter from a woman in Missouri who sent pictures of her deceased son, a local victim of the attacks, and thanked the parade committee for recognizing him. “To think that you get a response back from someone’s mother in Missouri makes your efforts all worth it,” Collum said.
The events of Sept. 11 have also made parade organizers reflect on the 40 years the parade has been in existence and the many honorees who have participated. The sudden burst of nostalgic sentiment prompted this year’s organizers to invite all former honorees to march again.
Not only paying tribute to the families of the victims, but the local heroes involved in rescue and recovery efforts as well, the St. Patrick’s Day Committee asked these honorees to lead the parade, said Collum.
The Fire Department has invited members of the New York Fire Department to march in the parade, and the Police Department has invited the Port Authority Police Department to join as well.
In addition to this year’s unique additions, the parade will include the bagpipe bands, high school cheerleading squads, floats, life-sized cartoon characters, and other spectacles as 3,000 participants march from Lincoln Park to Journal Square. The parade begins at 1 p.m. and ends at 3:30 p.m. A tentative after-parade gathering at the Loew’s Theater has been discussed for the honorees, former honorees, and families of World Trade Center victims.
Comcast, the local cable company, will broadcast the parade on channel one with Macchi reporting on the scene from the truck and assemblywoman Joan Quigley conducting man-on-the-street interviews .
Macchi said that she would inform viewers about the families marching in memory of those lost in the World Trade Center as they passed.
Honorees
The parade’s list of honorees include the usual spectrum of community faces who serve the city, including Sheriff Joseph Cassidy, Grand Marshall; Rev. James Reilly, Parade Chaplain; Michael Nolan, Irish Man of the Year; Stephanie Nally, Irish Woman of the Year; Sgt. Wally Wolfe, Irish Police Officer of the Year; William Norton, Irish Firefighter of the Year; Peter Soriero, Honorary Irish person of the Year; Captain Wayne McCarthy, rescue worker representative; and Meredith Ashley Gordon, Miss Colleen.
Planning the parade is not an easy process, according to Collum. An active member of the parade committee for many years, he said that the fundraising, planning, and executing involved in creating the parade takes the whole year. While the city contributes $2,500 to the parade, Collum said that the expensive cost of hiring bands, floats, and security, requires a lot of fundraising.
Collum said it was worth the effort. “I’m excited over the fact that we’re still marching to honor St. Patrick for our Irish heritage, for our family values, for our religion,” he said. “We should always remember our parents and grandparents for their struggle in leaving Ireland, coming to America and making a new home for themselves here.”
Pre-event kickoff
Parade events kick off well before the actual march down Kennedy Boulevard, though. The annual dinner dance fundraiser is being held Friday evening at Casino in the Park at 7 p.m. Tickets, which cost $100, are available by calling (201) 451-5353. The dinner includes an open bar and a musical performance by the Eamonn Ryan Show Band. Mayor Glenn D. Cunningham will attend the event with his wife, Sandra, as well as many other city officials, Connelly said.
Also, the morning of the parade, the committee is holding a breakfast at St. Peter’s College at $8 a ticket from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. After breakfast, a bagpipe band will lead people Saint Aedan’s Church for Mass at 10 a.m.