In a tradition sponsored by the WBID, residents of Woodhaven took part in the annual Christmas Parade, marching down Jamaica Avenue from 96th Street to Franklin K. Lane. The Woodhaven Residents' Block Association appreciates all of the work that goes into this parade and decided to come out and show that appreciation. And so the 1st Annual Christmas Parade Party was launched, the idea being that we would get a group of people together and make a lot of noise. We brought whistles and horns and bells and waiting for the parade to make its' way down to our offices at 84-20 Jamaica Avenue.
There were a lot of smiles and happiness inside the offices of the WRBA. We hear the occasional complaint that there isn't enough community spirit here in Woodhaven -- we beg to differ. Community spirit is alive and kicking in Woodhaven -- come and get it. We ordered bagels from the new shop on Woodhaven Boulevard -- Woodhaven's More Than Bagels -- and they were delicious. 87-12 Woodhaven Boulevard, next to Subway -- 917-300-5446.
Here we are in front of our office, ready to make some noise. We had a real nice day for the parade, not too cold, not too windy. The WRBA has Public Town Hall meetings on the 3rd Saturday of every month at 1 PM -- come on down and get involved in your community. The next meeting is at 1 PM on Saturday, December 17th at 78-15 Jamaica Avenue. Click here to find out a bit more about what the WRBA has been up to.
The parade was visible way in the distance-- it wouldn't be long now. The police were leading the parade and stopping traffic on the west-bound lane.
We were on the South Side of Jamaica Avenue and it became apparent that as traffic stopped, we were going to have our view blocked. So we crossed the street and staked out a clear spot at a hydrant.
Now we were in place and ready for the parade -- here's how it looked:
There's Maria Thomson, Executive Director of the Woodhaven Business Improvement District, in the front seat of the NYPD Car. The rest of the marchers were right behind her.
First up was the ROTC from Franklin K. Lane High School. As always,they did an outstanding job -- well done!
A lot of kids take part in the parade, with their school or with other organizations. By the way, the El Train looks great, doesn't it?
Here are the kids from Deneille's Dance Studio -- we think they enjoyed all the noise we were making.
The kids from PS 97 - The Forest Park School.
And St. Luke's Nursery School --
It was great seeing all these kids marching -- and showing community spirit.
Frosty hitched a ride this Christmas --
The Christmas Bunny and Reindeer -- I don't think it's Rudolph on account of his nose not being red.
A finally, the stars of the Christmas Parade -- Mr. & Mrs. Santa Claus.
The parade now passed, we cheered the NYPD and the Auxiliary Police who all did outstanding work keeping all of the marchers safe from traffic. Next year, we're going to do it again and, hopefully, more people will come out and show some community spirit!
Previous Parades:
If you have any comments, or would like to suggest other projects, drop us a line at info@projectwoodhaven.com or projectwoodhaven@aol.com.
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Photos by Joey Wendell