The time was March 2020, and Beacon’s Parade of Green was scheduled to happen. News kept breaking about this thing called the coronavirus, which was then called COVID-19, which caused very serious symptoms for some, and no symptoms for others. The virus was a mystery, but seemed to spread in large crowds. In California, Disneyland shut down and their governor created restrictions on public gatherings. California was always one step ahead of New York in what was to become “the pandemic.” Events in other Hudson Valley communities were being canceled, and there was a rumor that Beacon’s Parade of Green would be canceled as well.

A Little Beacon Blog reached out to the City of Beacon, and to one of the parade organizers, Richie Kaplan, co-owner of Max’s On Main, to find out. He didn’t know for sure. He said that the City Council members hadn’t given him an answer yet. Then City Administrator Anthony Ruggiero told ALBB that a decision would be made in the morning. When the answer came, it was to cancel. New York City’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade also canceled. New York City Schools closed days later.

Moments amid Beacon’s parade canceling, the restaurant Dogwood, owned by City Council Member George Mansfield, announced that it would be open for any parade people looking for Guinness. Dogwood would be one of Beacon’s hardest hit restaurants when it closed for the winter when others were scraping by doing takeout. Dogwood would reopen again in the spring. Councilmember George became a vocal proponent of virus safety.

Back in 2020, ALBB reached out to Mayor Kyriacou seeking a quote from him about the new concept of social distancing, and how to support businesses who were voluntarily closing down in order to stay physically healthy. His response at the time: “All the experts say that the most important thing that we can do is slow the transmission of COVID-19 (‘flatten the curve’), so that our emergency services are not inundated. What that means in practice is canceling large crowd events, and practicing ‘social distancing.’ It does not mean shutting everything down.”

The unimaginable of shutting everything down did happen. As did a pause on several economic factors, including the collection of mortgage payments, and the creation of an eviction moratorium. Some car insurance companies issued tiny refunds just to be nice. The City of Beacon launched its first online bill payment system to encourage people to pay their water bills to avoid coming into Town Hall to pay.

Hurrah For Vaccine Progress So That We Can Convene

Horrific virus variants later, several adults and a growing number of children in New York State have been vaccinated, assisting in creating an environment of safety for shopping, eating and gathering together again. During this week’s 2/22/2022 City Council Meeting, one of the creators and organizers of the parade, Richie Kaplan, addressed the council, giving thanks for their approval of the parade.

“Two years ago almost on a Wednesday night,” Richie said, “I get a phone call from the City of Beacon that 3 days from now, I will not be allowed to have 1,000 participants and 5,000 people during the City of Beacon celebration.

“Almost 2 weeks ago [and 2 years later], we have an approval. Thank you. I'd like to thank the City of Beacon and the Community of Beacon for allowing us to do this. This a family parade. High School, the Elks Club. So many happy faces. I'm very happy to be here to thank everyone involved. The Highway Department. The Police Department. Chris (Beacon's current City Administrator), you did a lot of work. Everyone else. Hopefully everyone will come out. Hopefully we will have all of the happy faces.

“From our first parade, I had a very nice family come in [to my restaurant, Max's on Main]. A little 6 year old asked me 'Can I come back next week for the parade?' Please, please please come out to the parade."

The parade starts at 12pm and will roll down Main Street. Organizations and businesses are invited to participate with a “float,” which can be a car or people walking or rolling behind a banner or some signage. Participation is limited to 60 organizations which must fill out an application form. Rules include no politicking, no drinking alcoholic beverages before or during the parade (Beacon has a history with St. Patrick’s Day parades), and a limit on the size of the float. Participants are encouraged to hand out packaged candy, but cannot throw it.

Businesses and organizations wishing to participate can contact Richie at Max’s on Main.