No Ocean County Columbus Day Parade and Festival for 2020

Lots of things have been canceled in 2020, and this is another event we can add to the list.

The annual Ocean County Columbus Day Parade and Festival in Seaside Heights has been canceled for 2020. The committee announced the news on their website, saying the cancellation is due to financial issues brought on by the Coronavirus pandemic. The committee explains that the pandemic stopped them from having the fundraising events needed to support the festival and parade.

Check out the message from the Ocean County Columbus Day Parade Committee's Charman, Michael Blandina, below:

"We have been unable to conduct fundraisers or seek sponsors that normally provide the committee with the $120,000.00 plus dollars needed to support the three day festival and parade. We had one fundraiser earlier in the year and held our Spring Raffle. The committee currently is selling our Fall Raffle Tickets and plan to sell all 100 Fall Raffle Tickets, so that we can give away the $5,000.00 cash prize."

The committee stated that as of now, next year's parade will still happen on October 8th, 9th, and 10th. Next year will also mark the parade and festival's 30th Anniversary. You can read the full cancellation notice on the parade's website, ColumbusNJ.org.

Thank you to my fantastic coworker, Varacchi from our sister station 105.7 the Hawk for sharing the news.