SOUTH AMBOY – Although South Amboy will hold its annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade in March, the city is already getting into the Irish spirit.
A fundraiser for the parade will be held from 7-9 p.m. on Feb. 22 at Murphy’s Shamrock Inn, 147 South Pine Ave., South Amboy. The Col. D.B. Kelly Pipes & Drums will perform.
Tickets will be sold at the door for $20. Souvenir parade hats will be available for $10. All proceeds will help offset costs of the parade.
“It’s a great thing for South Amboy. We’re proud of our city and our parade,” Mickey Gross said. “We strive to make it a little better every year.”
On March 18, marchers in the parade will begin lining up around noon. The parade route will begin on South Pine Avenue at the Portia Street intersection. The route will head north on South Pine, turn right onto Bordentown Avenue, turn left onto South Stevens, turn right onto Main Street and end on Broadway.
This year, 22 bands are expected to march. The parade will feature Grand Marshal Brian Kelly, Deputy Grand Marshal George Fuller and Honorary Grand Marshal Dennis Doll.
“We are a family-friendly parade, which means we’re looking for everybody to have a good time, but we’re not looking for anything too crazy,” Gross said. “We’re looking to the families to come out. That’s who we are.”
Gross has been the parade committee chairman for the last 10 years. He attributes the parade’s ongoing success to his fellow committee members.
“This parade couldn’t take place without the committee,” Gross said. “There’s 15-20 people behind me that make this thing happen every year and we wouldn’t have it without them. They do about 99 percent of the work and I think they should get the credit they deserve.”
The rest of the parade committee is made up of Co-Chairperson Cathy Schwartz; Treasurer Marilyn Grillo-Springer; Communications Coordinator Richard Moran; Transportation Coordinator Jan Willians; Webmaster Jeremiah O’Grady; committee members Marge Gorczyca, Jack O’Leary, Joe Britton, Ken Schwarz, Donna Williams, Judi Gillingham, Jay Elliott, Karen Chen and Linda Klink; and committee volunteers Dan and Judy McCrone, Dave and Adrienne McGill, Tom Dempsey, Billy Gerrish and Diana St. John.
Contact Peter Elacqua at pelacqua@newspapermediagroup.com.
