Spokane is ‘green’ for a day

For breakfast, there was beer.

A full-bodied Guinness for Ed Quintasket of Spokane. At 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, he drank his first one as he joined dozens of revelers at O’Doherty’s Irish Grille – hours before the St. Patrick’s Day parade downtown.

By the time the annual shenanigan hit the streets, the 30-year-old had already lapped up six, maybe seven beers – he lost count – along with an Irish car bomb, a concoction of Guinness, Jameson Irish Whiskey and Bailey’s Irish cream.

“Everybody’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day,” he said. “I have Irish in me.”

“Yeah, maybe Jameson whiskey,” quipped his companion, Erika Anderson.

It was a day to paint the town green as thousands of people gathered along the sidewalks of downtown Spokane for the 27th annual parade.

For an hour and a half, they cheered and waved to the more than 120 floats and organizations that took part in the event, sponsored every year by the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick.

Music blared from floats and hot rods, from the bagpipes of the Angus Scott Pipe Band and from speakers that blasted “Born to Be Wild” as the Red Hot Mamas danced and pushed their walkers. Candy fell from the sky – thrown from slow-moving convertibles straight into children’s hands or even plastic bags brought especially for the occasion.

“The town does a wonderful job of hosting this parade,” said Steve Worthington of Tacoma, who hasn’t missed a St. Paddy’s Day procession here for the last 22 years. “Spokane really shines.” No St. Patrick’s Day event on the West side of the state can compare to this one, he said.

“Look at this,” said his best friend, Mary Tracy, of Spokane, pointing to the colorful entourage as it marched down Stevens Avenue. “It’s beautiful. It’s the rite of spring.”

Valerie Vanek watched the parade for the first time this year, but they definitely came prepared. She and her 7-year-old daughter, Mykel, wore matching green eye shadow and lime-colored feathered boas. Their dog, Lucy, a boxer-Dalmatian mix, sported green spots for the day.

Vickie Berger also dressed the part from head to toe. Her hair was the color of grass, and even her eyelashes and lips gleamed an emerald sheen.

The Loon Lake resident visits downtown Spokane only twice a year – for the Lilac Parade and St. Paddy’s Day, she said. She hasn’t missed a St. Patrick’s Day parade in the last 23 years.

Until recently, she came with her mother, 71-year-old Laurie Lee, who now spends her winters down south. Now, she drags along her boyfriend, Rick Safran, who also gets in the spirit by donning everything green he owns and even dyeing his goatee. “This is nuts, but what the hell?” he told himself the first time Berger initiated him into her St. Patrick’s Day tradition seven years ago. In the past, the couple even drove a shamrock-decorated ‘74 Winnebago just for the occasion.

But everyone, not just the die-hards, felt a wee bit Irish for the day – from SpongeBob SquarePants to the Sons of Italy (O’Mancini, O’Garafano, O’Piccolo, etc.) with their leaning Tower of Pisa. Even two of the llamas in the parade were dyed green.

“Whether or not you’re Irish, this is the day for fun,” Berger said.