The Warriors are coming! From Thursday, July 9 through Sunday, July 12, veterans from across the country will be coming to town for Rockaway Warrior Weekend, to experience some of the best activities the peninsula has to offer as a thank you for their service. And it all starts with a welcome parade on Thursday, July 9 at around 6:30 p.m., where all are welcome to line the parade route and give these heroes a warm welcome.
Tonight, July 9, leaving Staten Island with a police escort at 6 p.m., Hope for the Warriors will be bringing 80 guests, including veterans and their families, along the Belt Parkway, over the Marine Parkway Bridge and into town for Rockaway Warrior Weekend. The welcome parade will go down Rockaway Beach Boulevard from Beach 149th Street to Memorial Circle, will turn up Beach 120th to Beach Channel Drive, and will continue into Roxbury and Breezy Point, ending at the Rockaway Point Yacht Club, which will serve as home base for the warriors to enjoy meals and bayside activities all weekend. Everyone is encouraged to line the streets starting at around 6:30 p.m. to wait for the warriors. Flags, signs and red, white and blue attire encouraged!
For the warriors, their night will finish with a welcome dinner at the Rockaway Point Yacht Club and a trip to the Breezy Point 9/11 Memorial, to learn the reason behind why guys like Richie Cannon, Rich Whalen, Mike Whalen and Rico Boletti have continued to organize this event each year.
On Friday and Saturday, the warriors will enjoy an adaptive water sports day with surfing on the ocean led by AmpSurf, and stand-up paddle boarding, kayaking, sailing and fishing on the bayside. They’ll also enjoy a dinner at the Harbor Light on Friday, sponsored by The Graybeards, as well as a private concert in Breezy Point, and a luau dinner on Saturday, sponsored by Bishops Barn. Lunches will be provided throughout the weekend, sponsored by Pizza on the Point and Russo’s on the Bay. On Sunday, before the veterans leave, there will be a Mass at the Breezy Point 9/11 memorial. “We’re gonna emphasize the fact that the Rockaway peninsula and surrounding communities never forget,” Richie Cannon said. We’re gonna keep our family’s and friends’ memories alive and continue to support our veterans.”
For the AmpSurf adaptive surfing activity on Friday and Saturday, volunteers are requested. On both days, they’ll need volunteers at Beach 219th Street in Breezy Point to serve as instructors, water assist, beach support, booth help and more. Set up begins at 7 a.m., with most volunteers arriving before 8:30 a.m., when participants arrive. Water instruction will take place from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and cleanup starts at noon. To register as a volunteer, head to www.ampsurf.org.
Thanks to the Gary Sinise Foundation, the warriors and their families will be staying at a Marriott Hotel near JFK Airport for the weekend. Last year, the event was graced with the presence of actor and musician Gary Sinise himself, who will not be here this year, but plans to return in the future. After all, last year’s Rockaway Warrior Weekend concert was the largest nonmilitary show Sinise’s Lt. Dan Band has ever done, and it was an event where they sold out of the most merch. “We’re looking forward to Gary Sinise possibly coming back next year,” Cannon said.
In addition to the Gary Sinise Foundation, the organizers thank the FDNY Foundation Civil Trade Unions of New York, The Graybeards, Breezy Tour and Travel and more for assisting with the weekend.
To help support the event, t-shirts are being sold. They will be available during the welcome parade on Thursday evening, outside St. Francis de Sales Church, and along the parade route. If interested in a shirt or helping with the event, reach out to Richie Cannon at 917-577-1173. For updates, follow @rockawaywarriorsweekend on Instagram.
