The Great Parade – A Great Success

On Sunday May 22nd, over 20,000 people lined the streets of Crown Heights in a display of Jewish Unity and to celebrate the joyous festival of Lag B’omer, the Yurtzait of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. The Great Parade is based on the legacy of Mesibos Shabbos and Lag B’Omer parades held on Eastern Parkway since the 1940s, and takes place on this scale whenever Lag B’omer falls on a Sunday.

From the moment Shabbos ended, Crown Heights was abuzz, with hundreds of bochurim and girls working to finish their floats in time for The Great Parade. Chairs were delivered, huge screens were set up and a beautiful stage was built in preparation for the much anticipated Lag B’omer celebrations.

Thousands of chairs were arranged from 6am for the vast crowds expected later that morning, each in carefully mapped out sections for different schools and synagogues who were to join. As the 10am kick-off time approached, excited revelers made their way through the streets to find their seats. There was an air of excitement, and even as the rain fell, children waved their banners in anticipation.

The fun packed day of rejoicing began with a concert by well known Jewish artists. Avrohom Fried, was first to take the stage, and kicked off the event with the very appropriate Hinai Matov Umanoyim, a song describing how we should all live united as one. Mordechai Ben David, Benny Friedman, and 8th Day continued the concert, singing other unity and Lag B’omer themed songs.

During the concert, clowns and chickens thrilled the crowd with their antics as well as The Twins from France who performed juggling acts using some huge bouncy balls and other items and sported an array of fantastic costumes.

The first floats came down the parade route accompanied by songs from Uncle Moishy. Local schools and yeshivos worked hard to create the beautiful floats, each depicting a different Jewish message or good deed. One after the other the floats wowed the audience, not only in their creativity, but also in their message.

Many schools, Chabad houses, synagogues and friendship circle groups, also joined the parade, walking along the route donned in Great Parade t-shirts and holding banners. A large group from the ‘Released Time’ program, were also part of the parade. These students learn with volunteers who come to their public school each week, teaching them about their religion and run special events for them.

The ‘Rebbe’s Riders’ a group of motorcyclists came down the parade route, as well as quite a few fantastic school bands. Online, another 150,000 people from all over the world also enjoyed The Great Parade, by watching it online.

The Great Parade was sponsored by The Americare Companies, together with The Jewish Press, Greg’s Express, The Print House, and Spotlight Design.

The Great Parade is a joint project of The NCFJE and Tzivos Hashem.

After the parade families enjoyed a fun-fair with rides, games, and more, as well as a full Uncle Moishy concert in a local school hall.