Parade committee wants to reorganize, says there will be a parade next year.
View full sizeJoe Daloia portrayed Christopher Columbus during the first Columbus Day Parade on North Salina Street in 2003.He can explore all he wants, but Christopher Columbus won’t find a parade in his honor this year in Syracuse’s Little Italy.
The parade took a hiatus this year after a seven-year run so the Columbus Day Parade Through Little Italy Committee can reorganize, Chairman Nicholas DeMartino said.
“There will be a parade again next year, along with the Walk of Honor,” DeMartino said.
While the parade has taken a break, the legacy of Christopher Columbus will be commemorated Monday by a wreath-laying and luncheon, and questioned during a panel discussion and community conversation, as Syracuse observes Columbus Day.
The Columbus Monument Association will conduct its 33rd wreath-laying ceremony at 11 a.m. Monday at the monument to the explorer at Columbus Circle, East Jefferson and Montgomery streets, said association President Michael Vavonese.
Developer Joseph T. Scuderi, this year’s recipient of the Joseph J. Pietrafesa Award for contributions to the community, will lay the wreath.
The association’s annual luncheon follows at noon at the grand ballroom at Oncenter. Dr. Fred Pestello, president of LeMoyne College, will speak. Children from the Josephine Federico School of Music will sing. Tickets are $23. Call Vavonese at 471-0128 for reservations.
The panel discussion, “Legacies of Columbus,” is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Grant Auditorium at the Syracuse University College of Law. The program is intended to look beyond Columbus’ legend to make a critical examination of his impact on indigenous peoples, South and Central Americans, border crossers and boundary makers.
Panelists include Audra Simpson, assistant professor of anthropology at Columbia University; Gladys McCormick, assistant professor of history at SU, and Silvio Torres-Saillant, an SU English professor. The event is sponsored by La Casita Cultural Center and the SU Native American Studies Department. Admission is free.
Contact John Mariani at jmariani@syracuse.com or 470-3105.