Thousands turn out for parade
Call it the perfect green storm, except without a storm.
Notre Dame was in town. So were scores of green-wearing Oregon Ducks fans. The grass was green. Even the river flowed with emerald-hued snowmelt.
For Mike Shea and thousands of other Irish Spokanites, Saturday’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade through downtown could have only been topped had St. Paddy himself served as grand marshal.
“It just doesn’t get any better than this,” said Shea, who founded the parade 29 Marches ago. “It’s one of the best we’ve ever had.”
On Saturday, Shea putt-putted the parade route in the same 1949 green GMC pickup he did that first time, except this year he didn’t have a keg of beer in the bed. That’s not allowed anymore.
Not that beer had been banished from the festivities – its hoppy smell enveloped much of the block in front of O’Doherty’s, where some revelers, including Tonya Absalonson, arrived before 9 a.m. to score a sidewalk table with a view of the parade route. Absalonson is not Irish. “My friend’s Irish,” she explained. That doesn’t matter anyway on St. Patrick’s Day. And her spirit certainly made up for her lack of pedigree. Absalonson and her friends and family wear customized shirts each year for the holiday. They even have their own Web site, www.irishdrinkingteam.com.
The parade went on for two hours Saturday afternoon. Shea said the crowd was one of the biggest he can recall, and he guessed turnout to be at least 50,000 people. The numbers were certainly boosted by the NCAA tournament. Tammy Cook traveled from McMinnville, Ore., to watch the Oregon Ducks and take in the parade. Ducks fans, with their green and gold colors, were spotted everywhere along the parade route.
“The Irish are in town, the Ducks are in town, it’s beautiful!” Cook said, referencing Notre Dame. A few Notre Dame fans were also spotted in their blue and gold. These aren’t exactly St. Patrick’s Day colors, but the Fighting Irish get a pass.
Spokane resident Patrick Cadagan, who worked with Shea to organize the original parade, pointed out the only two things that detracted from Saturday’s fun. “It would’ve been better if Notre Dame had won,” Cadagan said, then adding, “And Gonzaga.”
Zach Inks, who recently returned to Spokane after living in Seattle, said Gonzaga’s loss was disheartening, but not enough to take the fun out of a sunny St. Patrick’s Day. “Hey, we’ve still got the Cougs!” he said.
For the next three hours, at least, that would be true.
About halfway through the parade, Gonzaga men’s basketball coach Mark Few was seen walking past City Hall at a fast clip. He was alone, wearing a blue and white jersey, and his eyes were aimed down at the sidewalk. He occasionally jutted a hand out to accept greetings from Gonzaga fans along the parade route. Most people, though, seemed unaware of his presence or were more interested in the parading members of the local Dachshund Rescue Club. Scores of the little dogs ambled past, their tails and tongues wagging.
Some of the little wiener dogs were topped with leprechaun hats, the sight of which caused little girls up and down the parade route to smile and proclaim, “Awww! Cute!”