Irish Parade Was A Fest for the Wearing of the Green

Dozens of organizations brought crowds to the sidewalks and windowsills along Bank Street and State Street on Thursday afternoon as the fourth annual celebrated St. Patrick’s Day.

Irish and American flags lined the parade route, and businesses hung banners urging observers to stop in after the festivities. Participants lined up along South Water Street, practicing their acts or joking while waiting for the march to begin.

Derron Wood, artistic director at , boosted his height to 10 feet with a pair of stilts and an Uncle Sam hat. Wood said the stilts used pivots, allowing for more complicated moves, and that the key to staying upright was to keep moving.

“To do it, you have to build your own stilts,” he said. “Once you do that, it’s just not falling.”

Bob Terelak, a member of the Ancient Mariners colonial navy fife and drum group, said he hopes the parade will be able to take place on a weekend and grow bigger. He said the group often pulls a cannon behind them to complement their music.

“People mistake us as pirates, which we don’t mind either,” he said.

Jim Moran, president of the New London Motorcycle Club, said the organization has been marching in the parade since it started. This year’s contingent included 22 bikes.

“We’re very community-based,” he said. “We like to participate in community events like this.”

The parade featured an enormous vehicle from the , a float from with a live broadcast from , fire engines from numerous towns, and several other organizations. A large prehistoric carnivore leered at attendees from a trailer pulled by a vehicle from Dinosaur Place.

All three current mayoral candidates marched in the parade. joined a group of municipal and state officials near the front of the procession, while and marched with supporters farther back. Billie Borque, Finizio’s treasurer, said that by allowing Finizio to take part in the parade New London is joining San Francisco, Calif.; Key West, Fla.; and Queens, N.Y. in letting homosexuals take part in a St. Patrick’s Day parade.

“New London is only the fourth city in the country that has allowed homosexuals to march in the St. Patrick’s Day parade, and Daryl is the first homosexual in the United States to sponsor a St. Patrick’s Day parade,” said Borque.

Governor Dannel Malloy was originally scheduled to be the parade’s grand marshal, but Lt. GovNancy Wyman took over the festivities in his stead, leading the parade with Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen.  

“We are sad that Gov. Malloy will not be at the parade, but honored to have Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman to be our grand marshal,” said Marie Friess-McSparran, president of the New London Irish Parade.

Friess-McSparran said about 600 marchers took part in the parade. The weather was especially cooperative: sunny and clear, with a temperature approaching 60 degrees.

“You couldn’t have it better,” said Moran.