Wallington FD Cancels 2019 Holiday Parade

WALLINGTON, NJ – Rising costs and fewer volunteers to help with planning the Wallington Fire Department’s Annual Holiday Parade has led to the cancellation of one of northern New Jersey’s most well-known events to kick off the holiday season.

For the past 17 years, the parade, which featured hundreds of decorated fire trucks and other first responder vehicles from across the region, has drawn thousands of spectators to the small Bergen County community.

It was considered the nation’s largest parade featuring lighted and decorated trucks and also a celebration that brought the community together to welcome the most festive time of year.

The decision to cancel the parade “was not taken lightly,” however the fire department’s parade committee said “over the last few years we have been experiencing a multitude of different factors that kept making running this event even more difficult.”

In a letter to the Wallington Mayor and Council, the committee outlined its challenges, saying that the parade has relied on independent sponsors to pay associated costs, which are over $10,000 each year. According to the committee, the figure rises every year and doesn’t include police details and public works services provided for the event.

While the parade was almost cancelled last year, the committee wound up securing “three large sponsors that were generous enough to provide enough funding,” but this year sponsors are harder to come by.

“This year, there are several other community events that “may have our smaller sponsors holding off on providing donations,” the committee said.

The department has also had trouble recruiting enough of its members that can commit to working on all aspects of the event.

“The planning stages start mid-summer, with many committee and general meetings and last well until the week following the parade. With a new generation on our doorstop, members working several jobs and family obligations, it is difficult for members to make the commitment,” the committee said.

“For all of the past parades, the dedication by our members to forgo a holiday weekend with their friends and families, planning and setting up the event, illustrates how much heart and soul that was shown for the Borough of Wallington and most importantly, the children,” they also said.

As for next year, the committee said it hopes to organize a holiday parade, saying it’ll do “everything in our power and scope” to make it a reality.

"It is said that absence makes the heart grow fonder," the committee said. "Our heart-shaped community of Wallington is the reason we are a proud Fire Department and how proud we were to run a parade of that magnitude for 17 years, bringing our heart to the map."