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Official parade not dead
Submitted by Michael Fielding on Sun, 03/14/2010 - 7:41pm.
As we reported Saturday evening, the official South Side Irish St. Patrick's Day parade technically is not dead. Eight people and one float marched the entire parade route from 103rd Street to 115th Street, except this year they stuck to the sidewalk on the east side of Western.
The float, a Radio Flyer decorated in green and bearing the name "Wee Wee Folks," carried honorary Grand Marshal Patrick Thomas Coakley - the grandson of parade co-founder Pat Coakley.
Although few nearby bar patrons took notice of the parade, passing motorists sounded their horns and waved. Despite the cute factor - recalling the original parade when the Coakley and Hendry children marched around the 10900 block at Talman and Washtenaw - the 32nd annual parade was a sort of legal necessity.
"We're exercising our right to march. To maintain the parade permit, we have to continue to march," South Side Irish Parade committee member Bill Letz told me. Otherwise, the committee would lose the permit, essentially allowing anyone else to apply for it.
As for next year's plans - considering the word is now out that the parade will have to continue - Letz told me that he wasn't sure. "We'll have to wait and see."
This is done in clubhouses, many of which are located on or near 2nd Street (called "Two Street" by some local residents) in the Pennsport neighborhood of South Philadelphia, which also serve as social gathering places for members.
The parade is televised on WPHL-TV; after a national campaign to get the parade nationally televised, an edited two-hour broadcast of the parade was picked up by WGN America and WGN-TV; the broadcast debuted January 3, 2009.
This is the nice parade man and the kids are looking eager for the parade.
"This is the nice parade man and the kids are looking eager for the parade." I agree with the previous commenter
I can't believe how much of this I just wasn't aware of. Thank you for bringing
moreinformation to this topic for me. I'm truly grateful and really impressed.
Comment: The Mummers Parade is held
Submitted by mcts dumps (not verified) on Wed, 03/24/2010 - 1:45am.The Mummers Parade is held each New Year's Day in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Local clubs (usually called "New Years Associations") compete in one of four categories (Comics, Fancies, String Bands, and Fancy Brigades). They prepare elaborate costumes and moveable scenery, which take months to complete.