Officials canceled Keansburg’s long-standing St. Patrick’s Day parade after a suspicious package was discovered along the route on Saturday.

“It’s a shame that just a local, small parade isn’t safe from anything," said Keansburg Mayor George Hoff. "But again, I compliment our police department and the departments I worked with to determine that we should shut it down. I give them all the props in the world for keeping everybody safe.”

The parade, which would have marked its 20th year, was expected to draw crowds from across the area. Instead, concern replaced celebration as authorities responded to what Hoff described as a homemade device deemed a credible threat.

“They brought the bomb dogs out," Hoff said. "They went along the rest of the area here, the rest of the parade route, the end of the parade route area, which is the New Point Comfort Firehouse, with the dogs to make sure there were no other devices in the area.

Officials had not disclosed the exact location where the package was found as of Saturday night.

Local businesses, including popular spots along Beach Way Avenue, continued to welcome patrons determined to keep the spirit of the holiday alive despite the disruption.

The cancellation is particularly notable for Keansburg, where the parade has only been called off once before, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Officials confirmed that certain areas deemed secure were still hosting smaller celebrations as of Saturday night.

Hoff said he’ll have to sit down with police and the parade committee to weight out options about next steps or if they’ll have to wait until next year for a parade.

Anyone with additional information is urged to contact Monmouth County Detective Joseph Mason at 732-431-7160, extension 2189 or Keansburg Police Detective Sergeant Thomas Sheehan at 732-787-0600 extension 333.