PHOTO — With preparations underway for this year’s Greater New Haven Columbus Day Parade in West Haven, West Haven Mayor Edward M. O’Brien, right, accepts the traditional passing of the Italian flag from Hamden Mayor Curt B. Leng on Oct. 5 at the 2016 Heritage Dinner presented by the Columbus Day Committee of Greater New Haven at Anthony’s Ocean View in New Haven. Hamden was slated to host last year’s Italian-American cultural event, but it was canceled by rain. The 2017 Columbus Day parade, the largest of its kind in New England, steps off at 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 8, along Campbell Avenue. The two-hour parade, which rotates among six municipalities, was previously held in the city in 2011 and 2006. (Columbus Day Committee of Greater New Haven Photo/Paul Criscuolo)
WEST HAVEN, Aug. 18, 2017 — For the first time since 2011, the Greater New Haven Columbus Day Parade, presented by the Columbus Day Committee of Greater New Haven, sails into the shore of West Haven’s deep-rooted Italian-American community at 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 8.
The cultural event, which showcases scores of marching units and bands from across the region, celebrates the daring spirit of Christopher Columbus, the Italian navigator who discovered the New World and charted a course for millions of Italian sons and daughters who followed his crossing to America.
To march in the parade, click on Reservation Form.
The 1 ½-mile parade route steps off, weather permitting, at Captain Thomas Boulevard and flows up Campbell Avenue to Center Street and Savin Avenue.
Mayor Edward M. O’Brien has tapped Italian-American residents Natalie Guiliano DeRosa, Grace Iannucci Hendricks and Marie D. Lacobelle to lead the procession as grand marshals.
Guiliano DeRosa and Lacobelle are former recipients of the West Haven Columbus Day Committee’s Italian-American of the Year award, with Guiliano DeRosa receiving the civic honor in 2014 and Lacobelle in 2015.
Iannucci Hendricks is a longtime member of the West Haven Italian-American Ladies Auxiliary.
The two-hour parade, which rotates among six municipalities, was also held in the city in 2006.
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— MICHAEL P. WALSH, Public Relations Information Coordinator