Huntington Turns Out for Awareness Day

The third annual Huntington Awareness Day drew hundreds of people Saturday who turned out to celebrate Huntington Station.

Billed as a "unity in the community" event, the day offered a parade that wound along New York Avenue from 15th Street to Church Street, where a festival of games, food, vendors and entertainment awaited. Scores of Suffolk County police also turned out to offer wristbands to kids, provide lessons in the hazards of drunk driving, explain the use of police equipment and more.

While Huntington High School's marching band was first in the lineup, Whitman's band joined for the first time this year. Also joining in the march were several community groups and agencies, including representatives of the Dolan Family Health Center, the NAACP, whose former president, Dolores Thompson, is a founder of the event, sororities, Head Start advocates, community garden volunteers, motorcyclists, politicians and representatives of both the Huntington and South Huntington school districts.