Save The Date: First Major Spring Sporting Event Coming To Mahwah Since Pre-COVID

MAHWAH, NJ — Save the date, Mahwah residents!

The Township of Mahwah Youth Sports Boosters is hosting an inaugural mega-event to mark the opening day of youth baseball season; this will also be the first full-fledged spring sporting event since COVID-19 shuttered sports in town, organizers said.

Mahwah Mayor James Wysocki has agreed to throw the ceremonial first pitch, and town council members are expected play a game against a team of eighth graders. Other games will include police versus fire personnel, and the sports boosters versus public works staff.

All of this follows an opening day parade that will include players, parents and supporting organizations. The event is scheduled to start 11 a.m. on April 22 at Continental Soldiers Field.

"Mahwah Opening Day will bring what we have been missing since the (COVID) pandemic started — the community coming together to break bread and support our youth in an old-school-style atmosphere," event organizer and Mahwah Youth Baseball Director Phil Colella said.

Proceeds from the event, Colella said, are going to the Mahwah 12U Travel Baseball team — for whom this will also be opening day — to raise funds for the program's annual trip to the Cooperstown, New York, world-class tournament.

Hundreds of people, Colella said, are expected to attend the event, which will also have carnival games, rides, and other attractions; and raffles, prizes and music. Food and beverages will also be available.

Colella, who assumed the director role late last year, said that he figured, since this is his first year, he'd "pull out all the stops" to make this year's opening day a memorable one. Mahwah opening day ceremonies, in the past, he added, have not had the pomp and fanfare that he is expecting this year.

"We are thankfully turning the corner on the pandemic to where we can get together to laugh and have a good time," the organizer said. "To have an event where the town can come together for something as American as baseball is really exciting."