Rockville Centre letters for week of April 21 - April 27, 2011

Many contributed to parade’s success

To the Editor:

On behalf of the Rockville Centre St. Patrick’s Parade Committee, I would like to thank the village for assisting the parade with logistical planning and operational support. We could not have done it without the expertise of village officials, the Police Department, the Fire Department, the Parks and Recreation Department and the Department of Public Works.

Our 15th annual parade was a tremendous success, led proudly by our co-grand marshals, Joe Kelly and Bud Cosgrove. We would like to thank the Parish of St. Agnes for starting the day with a beautiful Mass honoring St. Patrick. The weather was absolutely beautiful and the streets overflowed with crowds of our friends, neighbors and families as more than 100 marching units provided a wonderful celebration of our shared Irish-American heritage. We were celebrating something else as well, community service at its best!

The St. Patrick’s Parade is known as “the parade that cares and shares,” as it is one of the only parades in the country that raises monies for charities. Since its inception in 1997, $676,000 has been distributed to 45 charities. Each year three charities, local, national and Irish, are selected. Those chosen this year were the Nassau-Suffolk Chapter of the Autism Society of America, the Wounded Warrior Project and Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Dublin. Last week we were thrilled to award $18,000 to each of them.

I would also like to thank the many people who have supported us these past 15 years. Whether you were a sponsor, purchased a journal ad or 50/50 ticket, sported one of our parade T-shirts or attended one of our fundraisers, we could not have continued our sharing tradition without your help. This year it has been our pleasure to work with more than 80 extraordinary people who brought their time and talents together to organize one of the best parades and also raise money for the charities.

A special thank-you to all of you who work so hard behind the scenes all year long to put the parade together and organize the support functions. This is an 11-month commitment, and we want everyone to know how special you are.

The St. Patrick’s Parade Committee is grateful for the outpouring of support once again. Thank you for making the parade a huge success.

Sean O’Rourke

Kathleen Schwarting

Betty Proper

Michael Cosgrove

Executive committee

A rave review

To the Editor:

I am writing because I was blown away by the talent at South Side High School in the performance of “On the Town” on April 9.

If you have never attended theater performances at South Side High School, you’re missing out on an amazing experience. I’ve lived in Rockville Centre for nearly 10 years, and until this recent show, I’ve never had the pleasure of being a member of the audience. We should have known from the full parking lot and the crowded lobby that we were in for a treat.

From the moment the orchestra (yes, live orchestra) began to play, we were thoroughly entertained. The musicians were fantastic, the students who performed had incredible voices and dancing skills and the acting was excellent. The sets were top-notch.

It was truly a wonderful night out, and for only $10 a ticket, it’s affordable to bring children or to invite an elderly neighbor who can’t get out much. Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait until the fall for the next performance, but plan to attend. Go for a pre-theater dinner in town and then head to the high school for a really lovely evening, and get ready to be blown away.

Karin Johnson

Rockville Centre