Long Branch Columbus Day Parade Returns on Sunday

Two communities will join together this weekend as the Long Branch/West Long Branch Columbus Day Parade returns on Sunday, Oct. 9.

This year the parade will follow a new route when it begins at 12:45 p.m. from the Vantage Point Office Building on Highway 36 and proceeds up Broadway. The parade will then make a right onto Bath Avenue and will end at Long Branch High School football stadium where the Wave of Hope Columbus Day Harvest Festival will be held.

The festival will run from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and will include rides, food vendors, a petting zoo, hayrides and many other children's activities.

According to a release, "The Columbus Day Parade has a long history in the City of Long Branch and West Long Branch dating back to 1946, and therefore is the perfect setting for the parade because of the diverse nationalities that reside in this city."

Joseph Mercadante has been the parade’s chairman for the last seven years and has sponsored the parade for the last four years with the help of the City of Long Branch and West Long Branch.

Long Branch School District Superintendent Michael Salvatore will be this year's grand marshal and will be honored during Harvest Festival.

Local high school bands from Long Branch, Shore Regional, Monmouth Regional, Point Pleasant Boro and others will participate in the parade. There will also be motorcycles, antique cars, floats from area businesses, local Boy/Girl Scout Troops, and State and County Officials. 

Send us your pictures from the parade/Harvest Festival and we will run them in a gallery on Patch.com this weekend! Send all photos to christopher.sheldon@patch.com.