By Lisa Byers
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.
