Annual pre-prom parade held on East Rockaway waterfront

About 150 East Rockaway Junior-Senior High School students were dressed to the nines on a sunny afternoon on June 22 for the fourth annual East Rockaway pre-prom party and parade at Mayor Joseph Carrigan Point on the waterfront.

“It was a great success,” said Cindy Lark, a member of the pre-prom parade committee. “Tons of people came out from the community to participate. We had a lot of sponsors and volunteers. It was a nice collaborative effort.”

Lark said there were about 300 people in attendance overall, including district Superintendent Lisa Ruiz and high school Principal Joe Spero.

Sponsors of the event included the Kiwanis Club, the American Legion Post 958, the American Legion Auxiliary Post 958, the East Rockaway Chamber of Commerce, the East Rockaway Prevention Task Force and the Village Foundation of East Rockaway. Town of Hempstead Supervisor Anthony Santino and Councilman Anthony D’Esposito also sponsored the event.

Mayor Bruno Romano, the village trustees and D’Esposito announced names of couples as they paraded down by the waterfront and were acknowledged by the audience. Many members of the crowd took the opportunity to snap pictures along the way.

After the pre-prom festivities were over, students headed to the Stewart Manor Country Club in Garden City for the prom.

“It’s just what we wanted,” Lark said. “You want to have that nice small-town feel. You want to have everybody come out and support the kids.”