B12 • HOLIDAY SUPPLEMENT • DECEMBER 5, 2013
www.LongIslanderNews.com
Please mention The Long Islander Newspapers when doing business with our advertisers.
Thousands Revel In The Glow Of Holiday Cheer Fourth annual lighted parade in Huntington Village is ‘electric’ Long-Islander News photos/Danny Schrafel
By D. Schrafel & L. Dallojacono info@longislandernews.com
It’s beginning to look at lot like Christmas in Huntington. For the fourth consecutive year, thousands packed the streets of Huntington village to celebrate the arrival of the holiday season with a lighted parade and street festival. Touted as the largest electric light parade and float contest on Long Island, the parade drew a crowd of up to 6,000 cheery spectators, according to organizer John Damico, a lieutenant in the Huntington Manor Fire Department. Damico said a total of 44 fire departments, businesses and nonprofits signed up to participate in the parade, drawing entries from as far as Nesconset and East Islip. “I feel like every year that all of the departments and businesses progress with their floats – better and better every year,” Damico said. Before a holiday fair set up on Wall Street, town officials simultaneously lit trees on the Village Green and at Town Hall while also illuminating on at the fair. The parade is something that makes the Town of Huntington unique, said Tina Balogh of Huntington. “There aren’t too many towns that have parades and big gatherings. It’s nice to see everyone in the neighborhood,” she said. Over on Wall Street, as the Uvena and Kanzer brothers waited in line to meet Santa Claus, they said their favorite part of the parade was how many marchers and firemen tossed candy into the crowd. Santa’s appearance on the Huntington Manor Fire Department’s truck was also a hit. “I like when Santa rode on the truck. He usually rides in a sled,” said Jackson Kanzer, 10, a student at Woodhull.
The Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce’s journey to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’s Island of Misfit Toys won best in show in the nonprofit division. Despite her short stature, the Uvena brothers’ little sister Riley, 5, was still able to see the wonders of the lighted parade. “I peeked through some people,” she said. The winners of the holiday float contest were: the Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce, the Greenlawn Fire Department and McGovern Trucking and Landscapers. In addition to bragging rights, the winning fire department earns the right to transport Santa Claus in next year’s parade on their winning float. The parade is presented by the Town of Huntington, the Huntington Village and Huntington Station Business Improvement Districts, the Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce, the Huntington Manor and Huntington Fire Departments and the Huntington Chiefs’ Council.
McGovern Trucking and Landscaping goes vintage in part of its display, which won best business float.
Melville’s Avery and Sean and Kaden get the best view on the route atop the shoulders of their parents, Tim and Jenna.
Scooby-Doo does double duty by bringing tidings of cheer from both the Willow Pet Hotel and the Chai Center in Dix Hills.
Photo by Steve Silverman
Members of the Melville Fire Department greet the crowd as they make the turn onto Main Street.
Santa Claus makes his grand entrance from atop a Huntington Manor Fire Department ladder truck. (More photos on B13)