Great Parade Secures New Faces

By COLlive reporter

Preparations for this year’s Great Parade, the annual march and rally on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn marking the auspicious day of Lag Baomer, are well underway.

Heading the festival is Rabbi Shimon Hecht of the National Committee for the Furtherance of Jewish Education (NCFJE) who has met with a team of volunteers this week to discuss the arrangements.

He is joined by R’ Levi Mentz and R’ Mendy Freedman who will be heading the dedicated team arranging the events on Sunday, April 28, 2013 – 18 Iyar, 5773.

COLlive was told that beloved children’s entertainer Uncle Moishy and singer Benny Friedman have secured their attendance at the Parade which traditionally blends music and Torah.

A first this year will be the performance of the Yeshiva Boys Choir, a leader in the field headed by the multi talented producer and arranger Eli Gerstner.

“We’ve never hired a large children’s choir before for a Lag Baomer parade,” admits Rabbi Hecht. “This year we want to go the extra mile. We want the parade to be nonstop fun.”

Since last year’s event turned people away due to lack of space, organizers this year ordered 18,000 chairs for the parade.

“There are going to be many more surprises,” Mentz commented. “We are thrilled to be working on the greatest parade in history.”