BY JOHN SNYDER
OF PASCACK PRESS
Photos by Danielle O’Brien
Westwood’s Home for the Holidays parade and tree lighting, which drew 5,000 to 7,000 revelers downtown Dec. 2, was a huge hit with families, local businesses, and visitors from near and far.
[slideshow_deploy id=’899′]
In the lead-up to the event, organizers said they expected approximately 4,000 but were prepared for more.
Police on Monday suggested the turnout owed in part to mild but seasonal night weather. Organizer Mike Fitzsimmons agreed.
“We were fortunate,” he told Pascack Press.
The annual parade, kicked off in the 1960s, has grown to draw dozens of groups, organizations, municipalities, clubs and many, many individuals.
It comes together organically to “bring their unique contributions to make an experience greater than the sum of its parts,” Fitzsimmons said.
[slideshow_deploy id=’899′]
Asked to share a personal highlight from the event, Fitzsimmons named the dance performances in front of Oritani Bank, which he said “brought a bit of Herald Square to Westwood Avenue.”
This year’s parade, which had a holiday fairytale theme, headed out at 6 p.m. from Five Corners to Veterans Memorial Park, where Santa Claus, aboard Westwood Fire Department Engine 14, inaugurated the holiday season.
Among the marchers the Pascack Press photographer caught in the parade were Hillsdale Cub Scout Packs 81 and 331, and Emerson Girl Scouts and Wolf Pack 67.
There were marching bands from Westwood Regional, Park Ridge, Emerson, and Paramus Catholic high schools.
[STORY CONTINUES BELOW]
Dancers included those from Emerson’s Glass Slippers Dance Studio, River Vale’s Perpetual Motion Dance Studio, Just Off Broadway Dance School, Anita Ehrler Dance Expressions, and Ambition Dance Academy.
Public safety earned their cheers: the Township of Washington, Westwood, and Emerson fire departments, and Westwood EMS.
Also represented were the mayor and council, AAA North Jersey, Westwood cheerleaders, the Westwood Education Association, Westwood Cares, Westwood For all Ages, Re/Max of Westwood, Good Karma Dog Rescue, and Johl & Co. Insurance.
A tree and candles were lit, and hospitality and open houses warmed all along the avenue.
Snowflake decorations were courtesy of the Borough of Westwood, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Westwood Taxpayers Alliance.
Lights on the tree were donated, as each year, by the family of Councilmember Robert Biccochi in memory of resident Sgt. Christopher R. Hrbek, a field artillery cannoneer with 3rd Battalion, 10th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, who was killed in action in Afghanistan Jan. 14, 2010.
“Sgt. Hrbek made the ultimate sacrifice. My family knew Chris loved Home for the Holidays and the lighting of the tree. By donating the lights it’s our way of having Chris’s light shine upon us all during the holiday season,” Biccochi told Pascack Press.
At the center of it all was the central business district all the way to Veterans Memorial Park, which thronged with revelers in their hats and scarves eager to hear live music, enjoy seasonal snacks, see Santa and Mrs. Claus, and make merry.
According to MaryAlice Farella, who is stepping down Dec. 31 after three years as president of the Chamber of Commerce, Home For the Holidays is a wonderful tradition.
“We hope it gets people into the holiday spirit,” she said in the days leading up to the event.
She added the event is particularly important to merchants this year as Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday, when stores are closed by dint of the county’s blue laws.
[slideshow_deploy id=’899′]