A massive holiday crowd on Main Street

The Center Moriches Fire Department’s annual Holiday Parade of Lights shined brightly through downtown Center Moriches Saturday, Dec. 10. From Lake Avenue to Ocean Avenue, Main Street in Center Moriches was mobbed with families eager for holiday cheer.

“It was an awesome turnout this year,” Bill Renzetti, captain of CMFD Company One and parade chairman, said. “The town was packed with people from one end of the parade to the other.”

Each year, a committee of judges awards trophies to some of the evening’s best floats. This year’s judges included Brookhaven Town supervisor Ed Romaine, Center Moriches resident Sarah Townsen, and Miriam Gillies of the Chamber of Commerce of the Moriches, who described choosing winners as incredibly difficult, as they were “all outstanding.” Among the evening’s winners were the Mastic Fire Department for the Best Fire/EMS Float, Our Lady Queen-Apostles School for Best Community Group, and Holiday Beach for Best Overall.

In addition to the myriad of floats, spectators enjoyed dance performances by Legworks Dance Studio, Christmas classics courtesy of the Center Moriches High School marching band, and a karate demonstration from students of the Shaolin Self Defense Center.

Renzetti said he began putting this year’s parade together back in August. All the work he puts into it is worth it when he stands perched above the spectacle on the bandstand at Ocean Avenue.

“Watching the lights on the floats, and the kids smiling, and everybody happy and in the holiday spirit,” he said, “that’s the best part of the whole parade.”