Babylon throwing itself a parade to wrap up celebrations of its 150th birthday

The more than 1,100 marchers estimated to take part in Babylon Town’s 150th anniversary parade in Copiague on Sunday won’t just be walking down Great Neck Road: they will be parading a path through history.

Antique cars, floats decorated with historic photos and one of the last members of the town’s now-defunct police department will take part in the parade, which Babylon is calling the first townwide parade in 50 years. The route is over a mile and a half down Great Neck Road and Baylawn Avenue to Tanner Park. Kickoff is at 2 p.m. at Great Neck Road and Railroad Avenue.

There will be 61 groups participating, from Girl Scouts and dance troupes to firefighters and civic leaders, along with five marching bands and floats representing 10 of the town’s 13 villages and hamlets. East Farmingdale and the barrier beaches have not registered for the parade, and North Lindenhurst is being integrated into the Lindenhurst contingent, said town historian Mary Cascone.

“The idea is to remind one another, as town residents, that we might live in Deer Park, we might live in Copiague, but we really fall under this town umbrella,” Cascone said.

At the front of the parade riding in a replica 1953 town police car will be Eugene Burnett, famed civil rights leader and a former member of the town’s police department. Burnett, 93, said he served with the town from 1954 to 1960 when the department was absorbed into the county’s police force, and was the town’s first Black police sergeant, choosing to patrol his neighborhood of North Amityville and Wyandanch. 

“We knew everybody and everybody knew us,” said Burnett, of Wheatley Heights. “The shopkeepers, the citizens — everybody knew us and respected us.”

The parade’s largest contingent will be from Wyandanch, which is expected to have more than a dozen groups and more than 250 marchers. Subcommittee chair Latesha Walker said Wyandanch has been “traditionally overlooked and over-stigmatized as a place that doesn’t produce anything” so it was important to have good representation.

“We’re proud to show all the pieces of our community,” Walker said. “We are a strong, resilient place, and this environment only grows stronger when we unify.”

The parade is the culmination of a celebratory year marking the 150th anniversary of when the town — then called Huntington South — split from Huntington Town. But parade plans began more than two years ago, Cascone said. At recent community events, she and parade co-chairs Sandy Thomas, of Wheatley Heights, and former state Assemb. Robert Sweeney, of Lindenhurst, shared local history.

“I viewed this as an opportunity to help people understand a little bit more about the place they live in, because I really believe that the more they know about their own community, the more likely they are to become involved in the community,” Sweeney said.

Thomas said a parade is a fitting end to the anniversary festivities.

“When people celebrate any kind of major event, there’s a parade,” Thomas said. “It’s celebrating who you are and what you are.”

Registration to be in the parade ends at noon Friday. Call 631-587-3750 for more information.

By Denise M. Bonilla

denise.bonilla@newsday.comdenisebonilla

Denise Bonilla has worked at Newsday since 2003 and covers the Town of Babylon, including the villages of Lindenhurst and Amityville.