No Parade for Fishing Celebration

The economy has killed a 50-year-old annual parade in Stonington.

A parade has been part of the Blessing of the Fleet history, a July celebration of Connecticut's fishing fleet.

The donations and fundraisers were not enough to cover the $25,000 it would cost for the parade to go on, Arthur Medeiros, the event's organizer, tells The Day newspaper of New London.

The blessing will still go on. It will be held on July 25, Medeiros tells the newspaper.

It will include the traditional Fishermen's Mass at St. Mary Church, the blessing of the fishing boats by Bishop Michael Cote, and the parade of boats out into Stonington Harbor where a wreath is placed in the water in memory of local fishermen who have died at sea.

"I'm the last person in the world who wants to see it end," he told the Day. "I want to see it go on forever."

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us