Great Day for a Parade
By Nancy Zink
@ramapo17 (30441)
Melbourne, Florida
March 12, 2016 10:23pm CST
I guess you could say it was the luck of the Irish today as our town had a nice ST Patrick's Day parade and the sun was shining all day and no one got hurt. Here in Florida the outside activities start a lot earlier than I am use to up in the northeast. I am assuming it has to do with the weather as the sun shining down on everyone all day can not always be a good thing.
It was so much fun and I ended up with 15 strands of green beads around my neck. A lot of the participants give them out to people watching the parade, along with all kinds of candy.
After the parade all the people that marched in it went to a big field at the end of the parade for all kinds of fun, food and entertainment.
I had a foot long garlic hot dog that was great. I could not finish the whole thing.
There were activities until midnight tonight and again, on St Patrick's Day, which is Thursday, March 17th. There will be bag pipers starting off in the morning and I think they are ending the day around 11pm.
The road was closed off and so many people were having a great time. I got some nice color today in the sun.
9 people like this
6 responses
@moffittjc (121714)
• Gainesville, Florida
13 Mar 16
Nancy, did the City of Melbourne put on the St. Patrick's Day festivities? There are a handful of cities in your area that really get into the St. Patrick's Day spirit. I think New Smyrna Beach might be another community that puts on a parade. It's interesting, because here in Gainesville there is nothing going on in celebration of the holiday. Gainesville and Alachua County have a very low percentage of Irish (or even Catholics) living here, so St. Paddy's Day is not really a big deal. If it wasn't for the college students at the University of Florida getting drunk and crazy on St. Patrick's Day, you'd never even know the holiday was upon us.
1 person likes this
@ramapo17 (30441)
• Melbourne, Florida
13 Mar 16
I just asked my husband and got him thinking. We are not sure if it was put on by Meg O'Malley's or the town of Melbourne. It was the perfect size as it lasted an hour and then it had activities until midnight in a field behind Meg O'Malley's. There were bands playing and Irish dancers and so much food.
My daughter and husband use to march in many parades in the northeast as they both belonged to Drum and Bugle Corps. We were on the go constantly. Both of them marched in the Macy's Day Parade on Thanksgiving but different years.
There will be outside activities at Meg O'Malley's on Thursday too from 9am until midnight. The Irish are crazy. I can say that as I am Irish on my mother's side.
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@moffittjc (121714)
• Gainesville, Florida
14 Mar 16
@ramapo17 That's awesome that you found a place in Melbourne that really gets into the St. Paddy's Day celebrations! I am Irish on my mother's side, and Scottish on my father's side. In addition to St. Patricks Day celebrations, I've always wanted to partake in the Scottish Highland Games, but again...nobody celebrates that around here. I think over in New Smyrna or that vicinity they do celebrate the Highland Games as well as the St. Patrick's Day festivities.
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@ramapo17 (30441)
• Melbourne, Florida
14 Mar 16
@moffittjc My grandmother was from Ireland on my moms side and my grandmother on my fathers side was from Germany. I guess you can see I have a lot of "stubborn" blood in me.
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@TiarasOceanView (70022)
• United States
13 Mar 16
It must have been so much fun Nancy.
I have never been to a St Pats Day parade.
One day I will.
There is a massive one here in Denver every year.
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@TiarasOceanView (70022)
• United States
13 Mar 16
@ramapo17 I missed it this year Nancy..too sick to go. Its okay there will be another one.
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@ramapo17 (30441)
• Melbourne, Florida
14 Mar 16
@TiarasOceanView O, I hope you are feeling better now. Take care of yourself.
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@ramapo17 (30441)
• Melbourne, Florida
13 Mar 16
Oh, go to it. During the parade the people marching in it give out colored beads to people watching. I ended up with so many beads wrapped around my neck. They will sit on my dresser hook until next year unless I find another reason to wear them. The kids went home with so much candy and lollipops. Sort of like Halloween, hahaha.
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@Tampa_girl7 (50525)
• United States
13 Mar 16
It sounds like you had a grand time.
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@ramapo17 (30441)
• Melbourne, Florida
13 Mar 16
@Tampa_girl We did and the weather was beautiful. I loved seeing all the classic corvettes and old cars.
@just4him (317241)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
15 Mar 16
Sounds like a great day. We don't do anything exciting here for St. Patrick's Day. I'll be wearing green though to proudly show my heritage. I am most definitely Irish. My mother was half Irish and half French.
