Shiny big glasses and extravagant hats stole away much of the attention at Saturday afternoon’s 23rd annual Jack Curtin St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Celebration in downtown Meadville. And the stranger, the better.
It’s one of the main attractions of the parade and one of the many reasons Patsy Wilkin of Greenville and her family participate each year.
“We’re Irish and we like to have fun and march in the parade,” said Wilkin, holding her 5-year-old chihuahua, Kibby, who was also wearing one of those extravagant hats. Kibby even had her nails painted green for the occasion.
Wilkin said her family tries to make it to the parade each year and begins preparing its attire nearly two weeks in advance.
“It’s just a lot of fun,” she said. “It’s fun to see what everyone’s wearing. We just really enjoy celebrating with our friends and family and this is the closest parade there is.”
While goofiness and comedy were certainly a big hit at the parade, the biggest attraction had to be Grand Leprechaun Jim Duratz, who collected a total of 10,725 votes at $1 apiece for Meadville Medical Center’s Yolanda G. Barco Oncology Institute’s Benevolent Fund.
Duratz took the opportunity to shake nearly every hand during the parade route from Diamond Park to the Downtown Mall. Former Meadville-Western Crawford County Chamber of Commerce president Charlie Anderson joked that Duratz must have been campaigning for something. But Duratz, in fact, was just taking the moment to thank everyone for their support of a worthwhile cause.
“We did something great for a very worthwhile organization up on the hill,” Duratz said of the facility at the top of Route 322 in Vernon Township. “I’m very proud.”
The Meadville philanthropist enjoyed all of Saturday’s festivities, but was particularly pleased to hand out candy to the youngsters. And there were plenty of them.
Despite the wind and occassional sprinkles, attendance at the parade and the celebration that followed at the Downtown Mall was outstanding. Both sides of Chestnut Street were lined with people.
“It was great,” said Eileen Curtin, organizer of the parade which bears her late father’s name. “You never know what you’re going to see when you turn the corner (onto Chestnut Street). There could be two people, a dozen people. But, especially for the kind of day we had weatherwise, I thought the attendance was just great.”
Lisa Byers can be reached at 724-6370 or by e-mail at lbyers@meadvilletribune.com.
Local News
Big glasses, big hats, big parade
- Local News
-
-
Conneaut Lake Park roars into 120th season
Conneaut Lake Park’s 120th season is officially under way with its in-keeping-with-tradition, four-day Memorial Day weekend opening, and the “crowds are coming in,” Jack Moyers said Saturday.
-
Area communities ready to celebrate Memorial Day
Editor’s note: The following Memorial Day events have been reported for publication in The Tribune. All events are Monday, except those in Edinboro and Shermansville, which are planned for Sunday. -
Remembering Civil War Bucktails
A glimpse into daily life of the Civil War era is easy to see in Crawford County.
-
Area Memorial Day events
The following Memorial Day events have been reported for publication in The Tribune. All events are on Monday, except the one at Edinboro that is planned for Sunday.
-
Civil War soldiers highlight Meadville Memorial Day events
A courageous Meadville man — wounded three times but remaining on a Civil War battlefield until he was too weak to continue — is being remembered this Memorial Day as the Meadville Area Memorial Day Committee continues its mission of observing the 150th anniversary of the War Between the States.
-
Police: Locals admit to killing Ohio woman
Two Cochranton women were arrested and jailed on homicide charges early Thursday after allegedly admitting they killed an Ohio woman and buried her body in a shallow grave near their residence recently.
-
Reader 'Faces' are coming in
Mom's car dash, Meadville, PA
Lucy Kedzierski, 12, looks at the face every morning waiting for school bus!
She took this with a cell phone. -
North Street Project sure to be 'very disruptive'
With the preliminary traffic control plan for Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s North Street Project complete, Meadville City Manager Joe Chriest summed up the anticipated impact of the project, which is expected to span the entire 2013 construction season. “This is going to be very, very disruptive,” he said Wednesday.
-
Boat business booming in warm weather
It’s been a booming business in boats this spring, according to some area boat dealers.
-
City leaders not concerned after financial downgrade
During the past five years, Moody’s Investors Service has assigned three different ratings — all within the range of “upper medium grade” to the City of Meadville’s bonds. In 2007, the city was given a rating of A3, the lowest of the trio. In 2010, the city’s bond rating was raised to A1, the highest ranking in the “upper medium” category. Monday, Moody’s gave the city’s $10,000,000 General Obligation Bonds, Series of 2012, which went on the market Monday, the middle rating of A2.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
