WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J.—A community-wide celebration of spring’s arrival and an occasion to honor the memory of a former teenage resident murdered during the Parkland, Florida high school shooting occurs Saturday, May 18 on Woodcliff Avenue’s Centennial Causeway. The rain date is May 19.
The second annual Spring Blossom Fest runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and features an array of food, merchandise vendors, live music from two bands, rides, and amusements, street performers and a beer tent.
The musical performers will be The Bruce Show, a Springsteen tribute band on from 3:15 to 4:30 and 4:50 to 6. The Larry Stevens Band, a local band, performs from noon to 12:50 and 1:20 to 2:30.
The event is free.
‘Finest weather possible’
“We have called for the finest weather possible so it will be a fantastic day,” said Councilwoman Nancy Gross May 6, before elaborating on festival benefits.
Last year’s first spring festival was held on an overcast day.
The event also honors the memory of Alyssa Alhadeff, a 14-year-old shot and killed during the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where 17 students and teachers died on Feb. 14, 2018.
Alhadeff was a Woodcliff Lake resident from 2010 to 2014. A ceremony at 1 p.m. will honor Alyssa’s memory and feature local officials including Mayor Carlos Rendo, along with Alyssa’s parents, Ilan and Lori Alhadeff.
Last year, the borough remembered Alhadeff at an emotional ceremony during the spring festival where doves were released and one lingered behind, which represented to many Alyssa’s spirit and presence.
Part of proceeds from beer tent sales this year will be donated to Make Our Schools Safe, a foundation established by Alyssa’s parents and focused on improving school security nationwide.
Alyssa’s ‘great legacy’
Earlier this year, Gov. Phil Murphy signed “Alyssa’s Law” which mandates 2,500 public elementary and secondary schools to install silent panic alarms that alert law enforcement to life-threatening situations should they occur in schools.
Funding was anticipated via the “Securing Our Children’s Future Bond Act,” approved by voters in November.
Approximately $350 million of the bond’s $500 million was dedicated to school security funding.
No guidance for grants has yet been issued by the state education department, which controls funds’ disbursement in cooperation with specific state agencies.
Murphy said Feb. 6 that Alyssa’s Law “is a great legacy…to have a legacy like this that will last…the lives that this will save will be in her name,” he said at an official signing attended by Rendo and Lori and Ilan Alhadeff.
Make Our Schools Safe is a 501(c)3 foundation dedicated to protecting students and teachers at school.
The foundation researches and tests best school safety practices, implements such practices by creating model schools in South Florida, and helps spread proven school safety practices nationwide.
The inauguralfestival drew 1,500 residents and visitors to the Centennial Causeway.
This year, the Borough Council contracted with Cliffhanger Productions, Rutherford, to handle festival event management for an amount not to exceed $10,000. The company also managed last year’s festival.
More spring festival information is posted on the borough’s website.
