By Kelsey Durham
Organizers of the Little-Neck Douglaston Memorial Day Parade have begun organizing this year’s event and looking for new leadership to take the reins.
The parade organization posted a letter on its website that it would host a meeting this week to discuss the details of the 87th annual parade, which has been called one of the biggest in the United States.
The letter, addressed to the community, said the Little Neck-Douglaston Parade Organization, the fund-raising group that has run the parade over the last few years, is dissolving due to lack of local support and will no longer produce the parade. But it also said parade organizers hope volunteers from around the area will step forward and help provide the financial and physical support needed to carry out the tradition this year.
A few members who have been involved with the event’s planning in the past said the parade is looking for new leadership because the previous organizer moved out of state, but the members said they think the money and volunteers needed for the 2014 parade are in place.
The letter also said the United War Veterans Council, which donated a portion of the parade funds last year, has already pledged financial support for this year’s parade, along with some other community donors.
A representative who answered the phone at the UWVC Wednesday said the organization will definitely be helping out with the planning of this year’s parade.
Reach reporter Kelsey Durham at 718-260-4573 or by e-mail at kdurham@cnglocal.com.
