Warwick's Homecoming Day Parade

WARWICK — The weather was picture perfect for the Warwick Valley High School’s annual Homecoming Day parade on Saturday, Oct. 22. The parade participants had originally planned to arrive at Main Street in the Village of Warwick around noon as scheduled. And because County Route 1 from the parade assembly at the school bus garage to Route 94 had remained closed since Tropical Storm Irene, the floats and vehicles would have to take a different route by way of Sanfordville Road. However, it was later learned that taking that route would have been in conflict with a funeral procession that would be leaving the Church of St. Stephen, the First Martyr around the same time. The last-minute solution to the problem was to move the schedule up by one and one half hours. Thanks to e-mails and a notice on the school’s Web site, most people, but not all, got the word and the spectators were out in force along the line of march. Everyone agreed that the students produced a great parade with their creative floats, each with a “Toys” theme. Local and school officials served as judges and voted the Senior Class as first-place winner. That same afternoon, the Warwick Wildcats lost to the Washingtonville Wizards in a squeaker, 41-40. The Warwick Valley School District, Warwick Valley Coalition, the Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Council of Orange County along with Orange County Executive Edward Diana also hosted the 26th annual Red Ribbon Week national drug abuse awareness campaign ceremony on Monday, Oct. 24. And preliminary kick-off events for that campaign began with a float in the Warwick Valley High School Homecoming Parade and recognition of Red Ribbon Week during the football game half-time.gets off to an early start on Oct. 22