N. Amityville parade, festival to return

North Amityville is once again hosting a day of unity, after having to cancel the event last year due to lack of funding.

Saturday's North Amityville Community Parade and Festival Day is billed as a day of "unity in the community." This year marks the 37th anniversary of the event, a day for celebration in a community still struggling with violence and economic issues.

"We try to pull everybody together on this day," organizer Madeline Quintyne-Bayton said.

Last year, Quintyne-Bayton said planning started later than usual, and the event's board ran into delays because of ailing members. As a result, the group could not find enough funding to host the parade and festival. The event costs about $6,000 to $8,000, she said.

"A lot of committee members were sick and over time it took a toll," she said. "This has been so successful in the past and it really broke our hearts last year not to have it."

In September, new members joined the board and the group began to plan a return of the event, she said.

The parade will begin at Rosewood and Harrison avenues at 11 a.m. and end at Bolden Mack Park. Grand marshals will be Legis. Wayne Horsley (D-Babylon), Bishop Andy Lewter of Hollywood Full Gospel Baptist Cathedral in North Amityville, the Rev. Vernon Shelton of Holy Trinity Baptist Church in North Amityville, and the Rev. Stanley Smith of Bethel A.M.E. Church in Copiague.

The free festival in the park will feature rides, vendors and performances by local bands, Quintyne-Bayton said. The festival, which runs from noon until 6 p.m., will also include a basketball tournament and a double dutch competition, she said.