A new date has been announced for the the Belmar Lake Como St. Patrick's Day. Organizers say the 53rd annual parade will take place on March 28th, stepping off at 12:30 p.m.

The parade was originally scheduled for this Sunday, but organizers made the decision to postpone it due to safety concerns resulting from the recent blizzard.

"While the recent nor’easter brought the region to a standstill, the spirit of the Irish remains unshaken," Chip Cavanagh, Parade Chairman told News 12.

Organizers from Lake Como and Belmar worked together to put a plan in place that will ensure the safety of the spectators as well as the bands and organizations that will be marching in the parade.

"Safety is our first priority, but tradition is a close second," Cavanagh said. "This blizzard was one for the record books, but we weren't going to let 53 years of history end with a snowdrift. Moving the parade to March 28 ensures a clear route with safe viewing areas for spectators so we can host the celebration our community expects and deserves."

“It starts off our summer season. You have Easter right away, so it starts off the whole summer and it's a good kickoff,” said Robbi Rose, of Hot Bagels of Belmar.

Instead, heavy equipment removes what’s left of the 18 inches of snow that the blizzard left behind.

Parade chairman Chip Cavanagh and the committee said they had no choice but to make the difficult decision to postpone – leading to a lot of disappointment.

“Everyone’s very disappointed. Social media is really blowing up, but it is the right call,” said Cavanagh.

“It's a big day. I mean, you have trainloads of people coming in, so they're coming in for their coffee. They're coming in for their bagels. They're still coming in for their food to watch the fire trucks, to watch the bands and obviously the drinking and all that. It's a thing, it's a day,” said Rose.

Anyone who has been to the Belmar parade knows side street parking sometimes fills up all the way down to the boardwalk. Snow has left many of those spaces half-covered, and the cancellation is felt among a lot of people in town planning house parties.

“It’s terrible. It’s heartbreaking. We look forward to it every year. We get 100 people to come over to the house. We cook dozens of corned beef briskets and soda bread. We have a live band. Everyone looks forward to it,” said Katie McManus.

Pipe and drum bands must now be rebooked during an already busy calendar, along with enough police and DPW crews to manage crowds up to 75,000 strong.

“We want to have everybody come down here, enjoy the parade and do it safely,” added Cavanagh.

McManus said she won’t let her food go to waste.

“It’s all vacuum sealed. We’ll hold onto it until the next date - the next date they set the parade. Hopefully, we can cook it then,” she said.