Iona College had the opportunity to ring in the holiday season with the annual New Rochelle Thanksgiving Parade. The parade was held on Nov. 23, the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Iona had its own float consisting of a giant blow-up Killian the Gael riding on a flatbed trailer along with some Iona students. Others walked alongside the float, sporting sashes and waving flags in Iona’s seasonally appropriate colors of maroon and gold. Along the parade route, New Rochelle residents cheered and waved.

“There was a lot of support from the locals in New Rochelle,” said junior Samantha Fiorenzo. “We would walk past families and they would start Iona chants and tell us we were lame if we didn’t chime in.”

Junior Kenny Reischmann enjoyed the festivities.

“I thought it was really great the way the Iona community and the New Rochelle community came together, it was a great way to usher in the holiday season as a community, and it was really special to be a part of it,” he said.

He wasn’t the only one to enjoy the sense of community of the morning.

“I think the New Rochelle Thanksgiving parade is a great opportunity for Iona and the community to interact. It’s fun to show school spirit with other members of the town,” said junior Savannah Lang.