Crowd gathers for 112th Fourth of July Parade in Ridgewood, New Jersey

RIDGEWOOD, N.J. -- A tradition continued Monday in Ridgewood, New Jersey as a crowd gathered for the 112th Annual Fourth of July parade. 

People lined the streets and some put chairs out days in advance to secure a prime spot on the parade route, CBS2's Leah Mishkin reported. 

"We were out here at 7:00 setting it up. Parade starts at 10," said Ali Malik, who moved to Ridgewood from New York City nearly two years ago. 

"The parade is nothing like anything else that we've seen in the suburbs," Malik said. "It's all homemade and it's a tremendous amount of effort that this whole community comes together." 

Many people at the parade told Mishkin a nearby ice cream shop is a popular spot to go to afterwards. 

"After the parade we go to eat ice cream at Van Dyk's," said Hawthorne-resident Ariana Sisco. 

Amy Orrell, a Newark resident, came for the first time with her daughter, ex-husband and his wife. 

"It's just like a beautiful little moment you know, with everything that's going on," Orrell said. 

Orrell said her father, a Vietnam War veteran, recently died from COVID-19. 

"He experienced a lot for this country and I honor him today," Orrell said. 

Whether watching the celebration for the first time or keeping a generations-long tradition intact, it was a day to create memories.