Trucks, dancers, bagpipes, even pugs delight downtown Spokane St. Patrick’s Day crowd

The clouds above downtown Spokane were all bark and no bite, giving way to a dry, but chilly, St. Patrick’s Day Parade Saturday.

Decked out in green clothing and beads, parade attendees lined the streets on the north end of downtown watching an array of vehicles, floats, dancers and even pugs while listening to the Scottish bagpipe band, Angus Scott Pipe Band, near the front of the procession.

Many parade participants passed out candy to children along the curbs while some handed out green-beaded necklaces.

Wearing a green top hat with shamrocks on it, Shelli Regis brought her 8-year-old son, Wyatt Capp, to the parade for the first time in about seven years. Capp was too young to remember the first experience, she said.

“I thought, why not?” Regis said. “Even if the weather’s bad, it doesn’t matter. Just wanted to come and celebrate the Irish tradition of St. Patrick’s Day.”

Temperatures stayed in the low 40s as the sun partially poked through the clouds at times. The wind picked up toward the end of the parade.

Regis and Capp watched from Spokane Falls Boulevard near O’Doherty’s Irish Grille, which was packed with patio patrons.

Meanwhile, the Stevens family encountered snow during its hour-plus drive from Palouse, Washington, to watch the parade.

“We’re kind of dedicated,” said Scott Stevens, who attends the March parade with his wife, Mary, and two children, Hudson and Roslyn, each year.

The family sat in chairs on Main Avenue near Washington Street.

“It’s like the spring kickoff,” Scott Stevens said.

Hudson, an 8-year-old who sported a long, fake orange beard, said he loves collecting candy during the procession.

As for his new St. Patrick’s Day beard, “I might save it,” he said.

The Spokane Pug Group, a social group of pug lovers who meet up with other pug owners and their furry friends, was one of the crowd favorites.

Drawing several “aww” reactions from attendees, the pugs, some dressed in green, meandered through the downtown streets with their owners.

Brandon Leeworthy’s 15-year-old pug, Max, who wore a velvet, green St. Patrick’s Day-themed coat, enjoyed the parade from a stroller Leeworthy pushed down the street.

Jennifer Lusk walked with two of her pugs in the parade.

Lusk said the pug group participates in the parade every year. Children are always asking to pet the pugs, she said.

“At this point, we’ve been in it every year, so they know pugs are coming eventually,” Leeworthy said of the crowd.