Spirits are high at this year’s Columbus Day Parade

Nothing can taper the good vibes emanating off everyone at this Monday afternoon’s march in honor of Columbus Day which ran along Fifth Ave from 44th to 72nd Streets.

All 35,000 marchers moved along proudly displaying Italian flags, along with American flags, while the crowds shouted and sang along from the sidewalks. This amazing celebration of Italian-American culture is the largest display in the world by the Columbus Citizens Foundation which occurs annually.

People from all over come and enjoy this spectacle and nothing seems to stop them, like a New Jersey college student, Gabriella Altundag from Montclair University, and her friends who explained why they would not hold back any of their fun today.

“Honestly, I was out that night and heard about it and still went out to have a good time so that’s how I plan on acting here. I love New York City and I don’t think we should be afraid to walk around and celebrate,” she said referring to the bombings that occurred late last month in both New York and New Jersey, her home. Altundag’s group of friends all seemed to be in agreement: they did not think security would be an issue for the city and they would not let it stop them anyway.

The same sentiment seemed to be prevalent among many New Yorkers and foreigners alike.

“It’s a lovely tradition,” said Tamara Lapan, a young woman with a friend who came down from their apartment that was just around the corner to watch the parade with everyone else. The young man with Lapan seemed to show some concern saying, “I feel people are nervous. Someone was commenting on the mailbox here…[mailbox in reference had a padlock on a chain around it]…but it’s a pretty good turnout.” Lapan and her friend were both lighthearted and cheered as the parade marched along.

Likewise, Collin, a family man traveling only landed in New York yesterday and saw the parade as a fun New York City activity for everyone. Although he did comment on the disorganization of the event, he felt safe here due to the sheer amount of police he saw around the event.

One man in particular seemed to stand out among the crowd. Charles Tuozzolo and his wife stood front and center watching the parade with a newspaper under their arms for a couple hours before he told me they had been attending the Columbus Day Parade here in New York City for about twenty years or so.

“I am half Italian and I like coming down here for the heritage. The parade varies each year, sometimes it’s better, sometimes it’s not so good. I like the Italian stuff,” he said.

The retired Navy man went on to tell me how he thinks the parade is as safe as it can be. “I came here after 9/11 and everyone was on edge then but we came just to support New York. Security is good. If you don’t see it, that’s because that’s just what you do. You don’t want it to be obvious because it’s what we don’t know that is the protection.”

Instead, his hypothesis on the dwindling number of attendees is due to, he thinks, “being Italian-American is no longer in vogue” rather than growing security concerns. Tuozzolo’s wife seemed to be in agreement, nodding her head as she watched a policer officer directing people.

This sense of safety certainly rung true based on the atmosphere of the parade: angry workers trying to push people out of the way to get to lunch, children happily running around with their parents waving at the marchers, and the police idly chatting with the viewers, laughing at some joke. The Columbus Day Parade builds a sense of community among Italian-Americans, New Yorkers, and all Americans.