Saturday 16 March 2013

Douglas St. Patrick's Parade 2013

Yesterday the wee little village of Douglas was filled with the spirit of St. Patrick's Day.  It was a day for the community to celebrate their Irish heritage......and they did.

People started to gather in the afternoon.  There was music and food available at both ends of town.  The 4-H square dancers...including Johanna, Grady and Jack....danced on a wagon.  They were warned not to fall off.




A raw, cold wind couldn't dampen the spirit of the party.  I had made skirts and ties and had the outfits all planned....and then scrambled to find 'green' warm outerwear.  Those skirts could fit over the snowpants!

The floats were all so creative....






Even Freddie Flinstone's car made an appearance.
 
 
  
Our float was based on the familiar fiddle tune "The Irish Washerwoman"....it was Terry's idea.  We had an ancient wooden washing machine and clothes lines at the front of the float.  Our Irish cottage with the straw roof was placed at the back....we had made this last year and kept it to use again.  I had painted a celtic cross on the back and windows on the sides.


Terry wanted to play the part of "The Irish Washerwoman"....and no one argued with that.

 

 
 
Johanna was trying to tune her fiddle amongst all the chaos....

 
 
 
My dad was our driver......and we were ready to go!
 
 
The crowd was so much fun.  I loved to see the stunned look on their faces when they would first see Terry dancing and then the laughter....

Santa even made an appearance in the crowd.  Sophie was screaming and waving at him!

I had given Jack the video camera.  Here is a clip of what it was like on our float and the crowd on the streets...

As the sun set, the parade lit up.  Even most of the homes in town were decorated with green lights and decorations.



 
 

 
 

St. Patrick!

 
 
 
 
It was a magical night but when things start to look like this...you know it's time to go home!
 
 
Brenda
 
 

8 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for posting these pictures! I was on the O'Gorman float and while it was AMAZING to see the crowds of spectators and the decorated homes, it would be nice to be able to see all the floats!

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  2. That's the trouble with being on a float....you don't get to see the parade! I was lucky to beable to 'borrow' some of those photos from a spectator. I noticed lots of people video taping the parade....I'd love to see that too! I was such a fun night.

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  3. Great job Dwyers !
    It is great fun when the community gets together just to have fun.
    We had great fun on the Protyre truck as convicts dancing around.

    All the best

    Terry Yuke

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  4. Thanks Brenda for posting these! I was looking to see if anyone posted on YouTube, or on their own blogs. I'm not a FaceBook user.

    Awesome photos! Loved the 'Irish Washerwoman' float!

    Hopefully we can make it to next year's Christmas / St. Patrick's Day Parade!

    Do you know if they will hold something the same weekend of St. Patrick's Day where the children get to perform? Lily and Rosemary would love to see it, and it'd be great to see Johanna and Sophie perform!

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    1. You will have to make sure and be at the next parade! Usually they have a kids day at the hotel the Sunday or two before St. Patrick's day and I think the parade is always the Friday before St. Patrick's day. We'll figure it out closer to the day!

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    2. Thanks for the update, hopefully they will have the kids day two weeks apart. James does all the driving, so going down two weekends in a row is rare and very tiring for him.

      Hope to see the family soon. Maybe we'll bump into you at Mass on Easter Sunday!

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  5. I, too, was part of the O'Gorman Float and didn't get to see many of the floats. Thank you so much for these pictures. You have such a sweet family and at least now I know your husband's name as he kept passing our float while we were getting it ready. He looked like he was having lots of fun.

    It is a great event for such a small community and it gives us a chance to get to know one another outside of Church.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! So glad you enjoyed the photos and the parade.
      Terry and I both remember your Mom from Opeongo....she was a great lady. My mom (Duane) was a Helferty from Pine Valley.

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