Note: This event has been rescheduled due to weather.
The parade will now take place on Sunday, March 18 at 1:30 p.m. and start at the intersection of King and St. Asaph streets.
The Fun Dog Show will be at 11:30 a.m. in Market Square the same day.
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It takes more than the luck of the Irish to hold a successful St. Patrick Day’s Parade in Alexandria.
When the 37th annual parade kicks off, it will feature more than 100 bag pipers as well as an array of classic cars, dogs, dignitaries and local organizations proudly wearing green.
The 2018 was originally scheduled for March 3, but a strong windstorm that knocked out power to thousands in the region forced the parade's cancellation. The Ballyshaners, the organization behind Alexandria's St. Patrick's Day festivities, worked with city officials to reschedule the parade for 1:30 p.m. Sunday, March 18.
The event is possible thanks to the Ballyshaners, a local organization dedicated to promoting and preserving Old Town’s Irish history. The all-volunteer, non-profit group was founded in 1980 with the explicit purpose of organizing a St. Patrick's Day Parade in Old Town, and in fact, Ballyshaners is Gaelic for “Old Towners.”
Old Town’s Irish history dates back to the Revolutionary War and Colonel John Fitzgerald, who emigrated from Ireland in 1769 and later ran a mercantile business in Alexandria. Fitzgerald was a major in the 3rd Virginia Regiment in 1776 and joined Washington’s staff as an aide-de-camp.
The first St. Patrick’s Day parade was held in 1981. Since then, it has grown to include a festival as well as a dog and car show. “In the very early days, the parade route was quite short; only a few blocks,” says Kim Moore, Ballyshaners chairman. “Now, it spans a much larger portion of King Street.”
To hold the parade, the Ballyshaners must raise about $50,000 to cover associated costs, Moore says. In addition to corporate sponsors, including Guinness, Daniel O’Connell’s Irish Restaurant and Bar, Murphy’s Grand Irish Pub, Hot 99.5 FM, and Long and Foster Real Estate, the Ballyshaners rely on personal donations, both large and small.
The city of Alexandria also supports the event through the participation of its police and sheriff departments and by providing resources including a mobile stage, parade permits and the use of Market Square, at 301 King Street, for the dog show, Moore says. The Fun Dog Show will start at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, March 18.
The city also shares half the cost of the police and public safety expenses.
“We bring thousands of people into Old Town with the parade,” Moore says. “Many restaurants say that parade day is their busiest day of the year.”
While the Ballyshaners are happy to show off Old Town to new visitors, they’re most proud of sponsoring a family-friendly event. “St. Patrick’s Day is often an adult day,” says Parade Captain John Bryk. “But we have the parade the first weekend in March and it’s a big family thing. It was designed that way from the beginning, to be one of the big community draws in Old Town, Alexandria.”
This will be Bryk’s fifth year as parade captain although he’s been marching in the parade since 2006. As captain, it’s his job is to ensure that the spectators lined up along King Street are entertained and stay safe.
For instance, Bryk makes sure that no one accidentally walks in front of a fire truck or gets in the way of the nearly dozen bright orange Kena 500 mini-Corvettes driven in formation by the Shriners. Bryk also determines the parade’s timing and flow. For instance, he says, it’s best not to mix dogs and horses, and nervous terriers don’t do well marching behind bag pipers. Bryk also makes sure any children marching appear in the parade early so they can watch the last half of the parade with their parents.
The parade starts at Alfred and King Streets and runs east along King Street, turning north on Lee Street and ending at Cameron Street.
