PORT JERVIS – The 50th Anniversary of the Tri-State Chamber of Commerce Rick Drew Holiday Parade carried old traditions – and new — this year.
The December 3 parade, an evening event for the first time this year, lit up a two-state parade route.
It kicked off from Sussex Street in Port Jervis, then made its way through Port’s downtown business district, under the railroad underpass, across the Mid-Delaware Bridge, along Matamoras, PA’s business district and up 7th Street to Matamoras Fire Department’s firehouse.
The Chamber of Commerce and Salvation Army served hot chocolate and donuts, as prizes were awarded, and families had a chance to visit with Santa.
The parade, named for decades-long parade organizer and active Tri-State community volunteer Rick Drew, has remained a popular much-awaited annual event. It draws participation from a wide range of communities in the New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania region.
Community Liaison for the Chamber of Commerce Ginny Schouten and longtime chamber member and parade organizer Tom McCarron acted as emcees for the parade and distributed prizes to participants.
Schouten said the response to the evening parade was absolutely wonderful. Despite some initial snags in logistics for launching the evening parade, she thinks everything else fell into place well.
McCarron, along with Port Jervis Mayor Decker and others reached at the firehouse, agreed.
“I’m proud to be a part of this,” McCarron said. “We had a couple of challenges, but it was great to have two neighboring communities come together to make this happen. One challenge was the rainy weather, but the Good Lord gave us clear skies for the parade. The other was lighting. The Borough of Matamoras and City of Port Jervis provided extra lighting for the safety of all of the parade-goers. It was great.”
Decker said he was thankful that the weather broke and that they decided to move forward with the parade.
“It was fantastic,” Decker said. “Having a nice parade, lit, with the fire department and community getting involved with the lights, it just gives it more of a holiday spirit.”
The parade featured large floats, fire trucks, and other components all completely lit with colorful, bright lights. Bands with lights on their music folios, and musicians adorned with lights themselves, provided lively holiday marching music. Many of the participating units threw candy to those lining the two-state parade route.
