Max's Mardi Gras parade shaping up

The "Mardi-Gras with a Heart" is the way committee chairman Bill Andrews describes the fourth annual Max's Mardi Gras Parade.

"This has been a tremendous event," he said. "The first year we had 1,100 parade participants and more than 4,000 people lined the streets." This year's parade will take place Saturday, April 27 at 10 a.m. The parade will be followed by games, activities and music by a Dixieland Band at the Special Olympics Park at SUNY Brockport.

The idea of the parade was born in 1999 when 10-year old Max Monaghan, who is HIV positive, was granted a wish by the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Western New York. Max's wish was to attend the Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans, but he decided he wanted to have a parade in Brockport so he "could share it with his friends."

That initial parade united the community of Brockport and the surrounding areas responded with a rare display of support for the event. The success of the initial parade was so great that the Village of Brockport decided to make it an annual event.

Max Monaghan has been the Parade Marshall every year. Medication has stabilized his condition and enables him to lead a normal life most of the time. He and his family have provided the lead float each year. Andrews said Max and his father have already been constructing their float.

The parade theme this year, in light of the events of September 11, is a patriot one, Andrews said, and it will be, "Uniting for America's Kids."

Individuals interested in volunteering for the event are asked to contact Brockport Mayor Josephine Matela at the village hall at 637-5300. All meetings are open to the public. Meetings before the 2002 event are scheduled for April 1 and 22, at 6 p.m. at the Village Hall, 49 State Street.

Andrews said event planners are still accepting applications from individuals or groups who want to participate in the parade as well as any group which may want to participate in the festival that follows the parade. Information can be found on the village's web page: www.brockportny.org

Because of problems in past years with people running into the streets to get beads, event organizers have decided to only allow beads to be thrown to parade watchers by walkers who will be on the edges of the roads, Andrews said.

"This is an exciting event that benefits a lot of organizations," Andrews said. "Anything we can do to make it fun for everyone is what we are looking to do ... it's a Mardi Gras for everyone."