Firefighters parade good fit for town

What an opportunity! That would be the possible relocation of the Maryland State Firefighters Association’s June parade to Berlin from Ocean City, where its convention has been held since the beginning of time.

Well, not that long perhaps, but the MSFA has been convening in Ocean City for decades, and a major part of that annual visit has been its parade on Baltimore Avenue.

Although parade organizers didn’t say it when they inquired about whether Berlin might be amenable to hosting the parade, it does seem in recent years that Ocean City hasn’t given the annual firefighters’ parade all the love and affection it used to receive.

That, of course, was back when the annual convention was viewed as an early summer economic high point and the parade took hours to complete as it ran the length of Baltimore Avenue.

That is not the case these days. There are other, bigger events. The parade follows an abbreviated route, and fewer companies from around the state are participating, according to organizers, who believe that the parade’s mid-week scheduling is partially responsible for that.

A move to Berlin would allow the association to hold its parade on a Saturday and rebuild member participation, say organizers, who plan to bring that same message to the mayor and Town Council in January.

Obviously, staging the parade in Berlin would present its own set of logistical challenges, but that’s nothing the town shouldn’t be able to handle given its years of experience with all sorts of festivals and productions.

As for the benefit to downtown business operators, the parade will introduce them to a new audience drawn from the procession’s participants and followers.

Besides, a big parade, lots of firetrucks and equipment and marching units on an early summer day sounds like fun, and Berlin certainly knows how to handle that.