A kazoo is not a toy.

But it sure is fun!

Getting to march in the Ocean Grove 4th of July parade with the now-famous Days Ice Cream Kazoo Band was sort of the cherry on my sundae this past weekend. Who knew waking up early on a Saturday could be so much fun?

In fairness, I'm a seasoned kazooist. I marched in the Staten Island St. Patrick's Day Parade for several years in a kazoo band with my mom. I'm a bit of a natural.

The Ocean Grove band was the brainchild of Heather, who appears in many local theater productions and can be seen tableside on weekends at The Starving Artist, our favorite local haunt for breakfast (three words: breakfast potato skins. Yum! OK – that’s four words…). The owners also operate the popular Days Ice Cream in the same building, where lines can stretch for miles (or at least several yards) on a hot summer weekend.

Our fearless leader was Heather, capably backed-up by her equally fabulous boyfriend Mike. Here she is, rounding up the troops in the morning:

And here we are, off to the side learning the play list:

Once the march began we really got into it...

In fact, here I am below with a rare triple-chin laugh. That’s quite something.

The beautiful weather (finally!) brought out crowds of happy people...

...and the parade's eye view was also a great way to see the houses of Ocean Grove decked out for the holiday:

I hate to play favorites, but I think my favorite band member was Mister T. Mister T. was very recently saved by a rescue group from a kill shelter in North Carolina. He’s half basset, half black lab. (Try not to think about the logistics of that too much!)

Is he handsome, or what?

The only sour note on an otherwise beautifully orchestrated day was hit as we turned the corner on Main Street. Nagles, which definitely would be considered a competitor to The Starving Artist/Days, decided it would be hilarious to soak our kazoo band. They launched a super-soaker attack from the crowd and from the second floor balcony at Nagles. The act was carried out mostly by teenage employees (as noted by their Nagles’ tee-shirts. Nice touch with the branding.) but also by a couple of pseudo-adults who kind of looked old enough to know better. They hit infants in strollers, people with digital cameras. No one in our group was really spared.

What can we learn from this?

Don’t be a jerk.

And eat at Days.


Days Ice Cream
Ocean Grove, NJ
48 Pitman Avenue

(732) 988-3297