By Donald Wittkowski
As the Miss New Jersey contestants began to pass by her in their convertibles, it didn’t take Alyssa Cancila very long to shout out the famous command: “Show us your shoes!”
The 8-year-old girl from Mullica Hill, N.J., giggled with joy each time the contestants followed her cue and lifted up their colorfully decorated footwear for her to see.
Alyssa and her family were among thousands of spectators who lined both sides of the Ocean City Boardwalk on Wednesday evening to marvel at the splendor of the Miss New Jersey Parade.
Karen Mahar, the parade director, seemed astonished by the number of people who watched the procession unfold between Sixth and 14th streets.
“I think it’s quite awesome. I think we could be in the tens of thousands,” Mahar said. “It’s great. Everybody is very excited.”
In addition to the contestants, the parade featured marching bands, floats, antique cars, fire trucks, Ocean City dignitaries and much more.
The parade is the opening event for the Miss New Jersey pageant, which is held at the Music Pier at Moorlyn Terrace and the Boardwalk. Preliminary competitions are scheduled Thursday and Friday evening, with the finals set for Saturday night.
Reigning Miss New Jersey 2015 Lindsey Giannini described the parade as one of her favorite parts of the week-long pageant activities.
“It’s really a great time,” Giannini said. “You get to have a lot of fun and get really energized. ”
Giannini noted that the parade gives the contestants a breather from the hard work and pressure during the pageant’s competition and rehearsals.
“There’s definitely a lot of pressure and work,” she said.
Now that her reign is just about over, the 22-year-old Giannini, of Hammonton, is planning to return to Rowan University to finish her senior year as a broadcast journalism major.
With Giannini’s float leading the procession, the parade stepped off at Sixth Street around 7 p.m. A thumping beat from the Camden Academy Charter High School Band set a lively tone.
In all, 30 Miss New Jersey contestants were chauffeured down the Boardwalk in convertibles. They waved to the crowds, flashed 100-watt smiles and, of course, followed parade tradition by showing off their shoes.
Alyssa Cancila, the little girl who cheered each time the contestants displayed their footwear, was inspired by all of the pomp and pageantry. Although she is still in elementary school, she is already planning to enter beauty pageants and has the ultimate goal of becoming Miss America.
“It seems like a good thing to be,” Alyssa said, while her mother, Colleen Cancila, smiled.
The Cancila family came to the parade to support one of their relatives, Miss Cape Shore Kelcie Klaus. The Cancilas noted that Klaus was costumed as a toy soldier in the parade in tribute to her brother, Christian, a real-life member of the military.
Other contestants had their own cheering sections. Miss South Shore Fiona DiGennaro was accompanied by an eight-member troupe called “Strawberry Shortcake Comes to Life.”
The children in the “Strawberry Shortcake” group, ages 7 to 14, wore colorful costumes and floppy hats hand-made by DiGennaro.
One member of the troupe, Andrew Domalewski, a 7-year-old from Middletown, N.J., played the part of “Plum Pudding.” He proudly showed off his purple costume and matching hat.
“I really like my hat,” Andrew said.
Andrew’s mother, Deena Domalewski, playfully asked her son whether he enjoyed being silly in the parade.
“I think it’s awesome,” he replied.
A few minutes later, Andrew and the other members of his group began dancing their way up the Boardwalk, entertaining the thousands of parade spectators.
