Township prepares to host Unity Day 2018

IRVINGTON, NJ — The 17th annual Unity Day celebration will be hosted on Saturday, Aug. 11, from noon to 6 p.m., in Orange Avenue Park.

“It all works together,” said Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs Director Donald Malloy on Monday, July 23. “The common objective is to move the two forward. People and community. That’s what it’s about.”

Malloy said that he, Mayor Tony Vauss and the Irvington Municipal Council are working hard to make Unity Day 2018 a special community event.

“We’re still looking for vendors, said Malloy on Tuesday, July 14. “We’re inviting everyone in town to come out and enjoy food, fun rides for kids, entertainment, senior events, music and free pool admission for the day.”

Last year, singer Melba Moore headlined the Unity Day 2017 event, which also featured performances by members of classic rhythm-and-blues singing groups the Delfonics, Blue Magic, and Ray Goodman and Brown, while DJ Qua and his son, DJ Taj, rocked separate crowds of all ages. And then there was house music legend Aly-us, who closed out the concert with a mix of dance music and hip-hop.

Malloy said this year’s Unity Day 2018 event would feature a lot of “new stuff.”

“This year, we’ve got the hip-hop artists coming in,” said Malloy on Monday, July 23. “Slick Rick is headlining. Then we have Byron Stingily, Ted Mills of Blue Magic, with the group Soul Generation, and a bad group of guys called Anonymous. We’re adding gospel this year, a group called Yah Squad. We have … house music legend Kenny Bobien. And Cynthia Tucker, she’s performing and she’s hosting and taking over the whole Unity Day stage. And we have Uncle Majic for the kids and DJ Tash for the kids’ music.”

All in all, Malloy said Unity Day 2018 is sizing up to be one of the best ever.

“We have a lot of new stuff this year, so it should be a bang-up show,” said Malloy. “We’re staring at noon and we’re going to end at 6 p.m. We’re looking for vendors. We want everybody to come out for sure.”

Malloy said anyone interested in being a vendor at Unity Day 2018 should call 973-399-6597.