P’ville Fire Department Cancels Annual Fireman’s Parade
Pleasantville Fire Chief Stephane Zapletal said Tuesday that this year’s Fireman’s Parade scheduled for Friday, May 29 has been canceled.
“Out of caution we decided to cancel this year’s fire parade for the safety of everyone,” Zapletal said. “In a parade it’s difficult for people to keep their distance, not to mention for members who have to put in work to set it up.”
The decision to cancel the parade was made at the fire department’s last board meeting in April, he said.
“It was not a light decision and we tried to wait as long as we could to cancel, but it comes a point where you have to decide,” Zapletal said. “If we are able to reschedule, it might be for later this year, maybe very late summer or early fall, conditions permitting. Right now, we just can’t say for sure.”
Any updates would be posted on the department’s Facebook page.
While no area municipalities have officially called off their Memorial Day parades as of Tuesday afternoon, it seems highly unlikely that any will be held. Although New York State’s stay-at-home order expires May 15, it appears that there won’t be enough time for downstate areas to comply with a specific set of criteria announced by Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday to resume activities that draw crowds.
Cancellation of Pleasantville’s Fireman’s Parade, is the latest annual tradition to fall by the wayside. Last month, the village announced that for the first time since its inception, the Pleasantville Music Festival.
In North Castle, there has already been cancellation of the Armonk Fire Department’s 90th anniversary celebration and the Armonk Lions Club’s annual Fol-de-Rol in early June.
Another event, the Stayin’ Alive 5K & Fun Run to raise money for northern Westchester first responders, has been postponed until Saturday, Aug. 30. The event, which is held at Windmill Farm in Armonk, was originally scheduled for Saturday, May 16.
Martin Wilbur contributed to this article.
Abby is a local journalist who has reported on breaking news for more than 20 years. She currently covers community issues in The Examiner as a full-time reporter and has written for the paper since its inception in 2007. Read more from Abby’s editor-author bio here. Read Abbys’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/ab-lub2019/
