Going for the green

The St. Patrick’s Day parade, a March tradition in Spokane for 30 years, winds through downtown today, beginning at noon.

This parade is always a grass-roots affair, organized by volunteers with the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick. Floats and bands are interspersed with guys driving green pickup trucks. More than 125 entries have already been accepted, and the grand marshal will be Mark Rypien, former Super Bowl MVP quarterback.

This year you might even see a Hollywood star: Christian Slater.

The film crew of “Alicia’s Book,” the movie being filmed in Spokane by North by Northwest, plans to film parts of a foot chase through the parade.

So if you see Slater running through the crowd and dodging around floats, followed by bad guys, don’t be alarmed. It’s all make-believe.

The formation area is at the parking lot at Boone Avenue and Washington Street, and, yes, entry applications are still being accepted there from 7:30 to 10 a.m. today. All noncommercial entries are free. Go to www.friendlysonsofstpatrick.com for more details.

Meanwhile, Coeur d’Alene has its own St. Patrick’s Day Parade today, through the heart of downtown on Sherman Avenue. The CdA parade starts at 4 p.m., so you can easily check out both parades, if you want an extra dose of green.