What a difference a year makes! Sunday was a magnificent autumn day with golden sunshine and brilliant blue skies, a far cry from a year ago when Putnam County’s Columbus Day Parade was cancelled due to steady rain. Thousands turned out for the gathering while hundreds of others marched in the processional along Route 6 in Mahopac.

Linda Cefaloni, a member of the Columbus Day Parade Committee, recalled last year’s washout. “We tried that day but the weatherman wasn’t on our side and for the first time in our proud history, the parade did not go on in Putnam County.” She said the 2017 edition of the parade was “a very special event.”