North Wildwood's St. Patrick's Day Parade To Be Held Despite Ongoing Pandemic, Organizers Say
NORTH WILDWOOD, N.J. (CBS) -- Organizers of the North Wildwood St. Patrick's Day Parade say the annual event will march on this year, despite the ongoing pandemic. But it's not a done deal just yet.
Save the date: Saturday, March 13. A popular celebration is expected to happen in North Wildwood that will transform the empty streets.
"We have a local catholic organization that has approached us about holding the St. Patrick's Day observation in North Wildwood this year," said North Wildwood Mayor Patrick Rosenello.
North Wildwood Recreation and Tourism posted on its Facebook page that the St. Patrick's Day celebration will happen on March 13 at 11:30 a.m.
Many cities across the region have canceled their parades due to the pandemic.
Mayor Rosenello says a religious organization plans on sponsoring the event and religious gatherings are allowed.
"It's clearly exempt under the governor's executive orders so it's certainly not the place of local government to decide which religious events can and cannot take place. So if a religious organization wants to hold a religious event outside in the city of North Wildwood they are absolutely welcome to do that," he said.
The celebration isn't set in stone just yet. The organization, which does not want to be named, has the paperwork but has not submitted it yet.
The mayor says he sees no reason why the city council wouldn't approve the outdoor gathering.
"I would recommend to them and have recommended to them that we make sure that people adhere to social distancing, that people wear masks even though it is outside," Rosenello said.
By the response on Facebook, most seem to be excited for the return of some normalcy in North Wildwood. And the mayor welcomes it as well.
North Wildwood Recreation and Tourism say more information will be made available closer to the event and it'll go on rain or shine.
