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MAMARONECK, N.Y. - Desiree Ronaghan has sat in the same spot for the annual Village of Mamaroenck Fire Department's Fireman's Parade for over 30 years, and Wednesday was no different.
The Stamford, Conn. resident watches the fire trucks, bands and notable figures march from the Mamaroneck Avenue Elementary School down to Harbor Island every year from the corner of Mamaroneck Avenue and Jefferson Avenue, where she grew up.
"We love it," said Ronaghan, who came with her husband Scott and three kids, Emma, 6, Andy, 5, and Erin, 3. "We come back every year to see all of the old faces."
The Village of Mamaroneck Fire Department's annual Fireman's Parade, which began after 7 p.m., featured appearances by Miss Westchester, Mamaroneck Mayor Norman Rosenblum and New York State Assemblyman George Latimer. Additionally, past fire chiefs rode in the parade, including 60-year member Lloyd T. "Bud" Wright of the Halstead Manor Engine and Hose Co. and 70-year member Walter Webber, Jr. of Mamaro.
The Halstead Manor Engine and Hose Co. celebrated their 100th anniversary this year and were led by police units at the very front of the procession.
The fireman's parade, which the Village of Mamaroneck Fire Department estimates has drawn between 20,000 and 30,000 people in past years, attracts many people from out of the area, like the Ronaghans, and Portchester residents Carl Berman, his wife Beth and their children Jared and Lizzie.
"Port Chester has something similar, but nothing like the Fireman's Parade," said Berman, who has been taking his family to the parade for four years.
Mamaroneck resident Gene Miceli, who stopped off to buy his son, Christopher, a spiderman blow up doll, said he is still just starting to make the Fireman's Carnival a tradition.
"We've been to a couple before, but this will probably be the first Christopher remembers," Miceli said.
While many families said they wouldn't go to the Fireman's Carnival at Harbor Island Wednesday after the parade, those who did saw the various marching bands collaborate on a jam session when the parade concluded.
Did you attend the annual Fireman's Parade? What was your favorite part?
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