Tree lighting caps event that each year draws thousands to Huntington Village
Huntington, NY – The Fifth Annual Holiday Parade and Street Festival in Huntington Village will kick off at 7 p.m. Saturday, November 29, as Huntington segues from Small Business Saturday to Long Island’s biggest electric light holiday parade and float contest, which this year centers on the theme “ ’Tis the Season Across America.”
The parade drew more than 10,000 people last year. The festivities will include a brief ceremony following the parade to light the holiday tree; the trees on the Village Green and at Town Hall will be lit simultaneously. The tree will be on Wall Street, at the site of a recently demolished building, and will remain there for the entire holiday season, thanks to the generosity of the property owner. Musical performances are planned for the area around the tree after it is lit.
The parade will include competitions for the best floats in several categories, with judging based on how well they follow the theme of the parade. Competitors are required to pick a state and create a float that represents the holiday in that state. A competition for the best-decorated business will be held at a later date.
The friendly competition among fire departments is particularly fierce, because the winning department gets to choose who gets to play Santa Claus in the 2015 parade.
Numerous fire departments, scouts, and veterans and civic groups are scheduled to participate in the parade, which will begin at the Big H Shopping Center and proceed north on New York Avenue to Main Street, then west along Main Street past the reviewing stand at Wall Street to West Neck Road. Wall Street will be closed to traffic from Main Street to Gerard Street until 9 p.m. for the festival, which will include performances from many local groups and promotions from local merchants.
Parents are invited to bring their children to meet Santa and Mrs. Claus and some of their favorite characters, including Snoopy, The Grinch, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Sesame Street’s Elmo and Toy Story’s Woody. The Halesite Fire Department will have Buddy the Elf on board the actual sled used in filming the movie “Elf.” Free hot chocolate and cookies will be served.
“This is a special parade in a special place – Huntington Village,” Supervisor Frank P. Petrone said. “I invite everyone start the day at the village’s unique shops, visit the many restaurants and then to join us to see the fantastic floats the fire departments and other groups put together, followed by an evening of family holiday fun.”
The parade and festival’s sponsors include the Town, 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 Fire Chiefs’ Council.
Free parking is available at the Huntington train station, with a convenient free shuttle from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Groups wishing to participate in the parade must submit an application form to the Huntington Manor Fire Department, 1650 New York Ave., Huntington Station, by November 15. The form can be downloaded.
For further application information, call Lt. John Damico at 516-852-5919.