2013 Buffalo Soldier Award Winner to Lead Nyack's African American Day Parade

Nyack celebrates its fifth annual African American Day on Saturday, May 11 at 2 p.m. with a parade followed by a multicultural festival in Memorial Park.

New York’s R&B radio station WBLS-107.5 FM will provide the music and entertainment for the multi-cultural festival in the park following the parade. 

New to the festivities this year: A 3-on-3 basketball tournament, and acommunity line dance.

Marchers include the East Ramapo Marching Band, winner of more than 250 awards in 20 years. Local entries include the Nyack Plaza Kool Kids, Rockland Lodge 424, Ryders Unlimited Motorcycle Club, Motherland Rhythms & Dance, as well as the all-volunteer Nyack Fire Department.

The 2013 parade will celebrate the achievements of Grand Marshall, Anngela Vasser-Cooper, a native of Nyack, and product of the North Rockland Public Schools system. Vasser-Cooper is a US Army Veteran, a communications specialist, and this year’s recipient of the Rockland County’s 2013 Buffalo Soldier Award, only the second woman to receive this award.   

Other marchers include the Buffalo Soldiers of West Point, the Nyack NAACP, The Rockland County Sheriff''s Mounted Police, the International Association of Professional Black firefighters and the Mount Vernon Classic Car Club.

The new parade route starts at the old Pavion site on Cedar Hill Avenue, proceeds North on Franklin Street and east down Main Street, south on Broadway, east down Depew Avenue and ending at Memorial Park in Nyack.

Parking will not be permitted on the parade route between noon and approximately 4pm. In addition, general parking will not be available in Memorial Park during the event.

After the parade, Tomorrow’s Workplace, Rockland County’s employment resource center, will facilitate a mini Job Fair at Memorial Park. Visitors are encouraged to drop by the booth, fill out a job application and drop off a resume. Employers scheduled to be in attendance include: Affinity Health Plans, Orange and Rockland Utltities, Local IBEW, Tappan Zee Constructors.

The post-parade festival in the park includes music, crafts, food and fun hosted by local vendors as well as community service organizations.