By:Joe Kellard
The traditional kick off to the summer season is here!
From the beach to block parties to parades, Memorial Weekend is one of the biggest of the year in Long Beach. City events will once again be highlighted by the largest Memorial Day Parade on Long Island.
On Monday, May 28, more than 5,000 marchers from 50 organizations will begin to step out on the Long Beach streets, starting at 9:30 a.m. at Ohio Avenue and Beech Street and ending before the reviewing stand at Kennedy Plaza in front of Long Beach City Hall.
It is estimated that nearly half the Long Beach population will either be marching or viewing the parade. The Master of Ceremonies this year will be retiring City Councilman Edmund Buscemi, a 13-year veteran of the council and former police commissioner.
Buscemi served in the U.S. Marine Corps, the first Long Beach resident to be drafted into that branch of service. He spent the next couple of years touring with the USMC baseball team and served as a teacher of sanitation, hygiene and Marine Corps history.
Even earlier on Memorial Day morning, Brianne Leary, the Arts and Entertainment editor for Channel 5's Good Day New York, will broadcast live from the Long Beach Lifeguard Station. Starting at 6:30, the morning program will feature the Long Beach Middle School Band, which will provide some tunes under the direction of Chris Wilson.
They're a hard-working and talented group, said Wilson. The students will then be marching in the Memorial Day parade later that morning.
The morning television program will also feature important information on how to stay safe at the beach, with a rescue demonstration by the Long Beach Beach Patrol under the leadership of Chief Steve Kohut.
It's never too early to get out the word about only swimming when there are lifeguards on duty, said Kohut. We want everyone to be safe this summer.
Speaking of swimming when no lifeguards are on duty, City of Long Beach officials have issued an urgent message to school officials: Please speak to your students and let them know that it is very dangerous to swim in the ocean when lifeguards are not on duty.
The warning came when officials learned that there will be no school on Friday, May 25 and Tuesday, May 29
