Parade formation

Lions Club ready to march down Main St.

By: Matt Kirdahy
   Roads in the center of the village will be closed temporarily on Monday to make way for Cranburians and the members of local organizations to march in celebration of Memorial Day.
   The annual Memorial Day parade will kick off at 1 p.m. rain or shine at the intersection of Cranbury Neck Road and South Main Street. The procession will proceed north on Main Street, turn right on Plainsboro Road, right on Maplewood Avenue, right onto Park Place and left onto North Main Street.
   The Cranbury Lions Club organized the event.
   According to Lions member Bob Wood, the mile-long parade will finish at Memorial Park on South Main Street. A brief memorial service will then be held with remarks by Cranbury Lion Bob Virgadamo, Mayor Pari Stave, the Rev. Jack Foster of the United Methodist Church and the Rev. Louis Mitchell of the First Presbyterian Church of Cranbury.
   The parade will include Cranbury police and veterans and members of VFW Post 262. They will be followed by members of the Township Committee and a float from the Cranbury Lions Club.
   Following the Lions float, a Massachusetts Alliance for Visually Impaired Students (MAVIS) music band, featuring all visually impaired members, will perform on its own float during the parade. Kids from grades K-5 are invited to decorate their bicycles and become a part of the parade. Mr. Wood said that usually about 25 students who arrive before the start time join in. The Lions then pick the top three best decorated bikes and award the owners a prize at the end of the memorial service.
   The Cranbury School Jazz Band will have its own float as well. Other bands participating in the procession include the Cranbury Brass Band, East Windsor Kreps Middle School Band and the Ed Goldberg Polka Band from Plainsboro.
   The Princeton Ballet also will be represented in the parade, along with Cranbury Scouts.
   Also marching in this year’s parade will be members of the Cranbury, Hightstown, Monmouth Junction, Applegarth, Plainsboro and East Windsor Fire companies. Also marching will be members of the Cranbury, Plainsboro, Hightstown and East Windsor first aid and rescue squads.
   As in the past, the Lions will be taking bids on a 50-50 drawing that offers a prize of at least $1,000.
   "A parade with the flags, patriotic music, marching soldiers, fire engines, floats and all the other pageantry makes Memorial Day a special day, and stops this holiday from becoming another forgotten date on the calendar," Mr. Wood said. "A parade makes this date truly ‘Memorial,’ and the parade itself reminds people of those who have served our country."