Holyoke Saint Patrick's Day Parade facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Holyoke St. Patrick's Day Parade
Status	Active
Genre	Parade
Frequency	Annually
Location(s)	Holyoke, MA
Country	United States of America
Inaugurated	March 16, 1952
Attendance	400,000
Organized by	Holyoke St. Patrick's Parade Committee
Website	http://holyokestpatricksparade.com
March 20, 2022

Holyoke Saint Patrick's Day Parade is hosted every year on the Sunday of the week of Saint Patrick's Day. Each parade usually attracts around 400,000 spectators from all over the United States of America. Past participants have included President John F. Kennedy, two Speakers of the House and other notable officials.

History

Then-Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy in attendance at the 1958 Holyoke St. Patrick's Parade, receiving an honor as an "outstanding American of Irish parentage" from parade committee President James F. Millane, on the lawn of the Holyoke City Hall. Following Kennedy's assassination, the award was renamed the "John F. Kennedy National Award" in his honor.

Drawing on the Irish heritage of Holyoke, in its earliest days known as "Ireland Parish", the inaugural Saint Patrick's Day Parade was hosted on March 16, 1952, after a group of local businessmen met at the local Brian Boru Club and proposed the idea. Since that time the Holyoke Saint Patrick's Parade Committee which has since grown to more than 100 people and presents multiple awards to distinguished citizens every year.

As with the United States at-large, the parade has been widely participated in by people both of Irish and non-Irish heritage alike, and has come to be a reflection of Holyoke's syncretic culture, an example being local vendors selling such combinations as Café con leche with Irish soda bread, and wide variety of bands participating from all over the country, including but not limited to, the Aqua String Band, the Hawthorne Callaberos, and the Tian Guo Marching Band. Citing concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, in 2020 the parade and several associated events were cancelled for the first time in its 68 year run.

Attendance

Parade Spectator Estimates By Year (1952–Present)

Since its inaugural event in 1952, the parade has grown substantially; while the first parade saw around an estimated 25,000 spectators, in recent years the estimated number of spectator's has exceeding 400,000, approximately ten times the population of Holyoke as of the most recent census. The event, considered as much a regional as local venue, attracts many spectators from surrounding states and even Ireland itself in recent years. In 2011 the UMass Donahue Institute estimated the parade brought in $20 million annually to the local economy, through its participants and spectators.

Honorees

Robert Barrett Jr., president of the Holyoke Water Power Company and a recipient of the parade's Citizenship Award, tips his hat to spectators in the 1969 parade

Each year since its first iteration, the parade has had a parade president and grand marshal; in 1955 the first Colleen was chosen and given her own court and throne. Over the years a number of other awards have been created, including the Thomas Rohan Award (1957), named for the first grand marshall, for citizens contributing outstanding work to the parade; the John F. Kennedy Award (1958), named for its inaugural recipient, has been given to an "Outstanding American of Irish Descent" each year since that time and has included nationally known singers, actors, athletes, writers, an astronaut, mayors of Boston, several governors, senators, and Speakers of the House. Additional awards include the Citizenship Award (1966) honoring those of non-Irish descent who have made substantial contributions to the parade, the George E. O’Connell Award (1963) to members of the parade committee who have made longstanding efforts to fundraising, the Daniel J. Gallivan Award (1972) for others who have made significant contributions to the parade who do not reside in Holyoke, and the Ambassador Award (1992) to those who promote international ties between the United States and Ireland.

Media coverage

The parade also enjoys an audience beyond its participants, with more than 1.2 million viewers watching over the channel and online streams of local PBS affiliate WGBY, which broadcast it every year from 2001 through 2018. WWLP resumed as the broadcaster of the parade in 2019 through its CW channel, and also included a livestream. Other local media outlets including WGGB-TV and the Springfield Republican also cover the event.

Gallery

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  Various scenes of the Parade, 1973

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  Flag carrying officers of the Holyoke Police Dept. leading the Saint Patrick's Parade, 2019

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  Parade floats, including the Peter Pan parade bus, move toward downtown on Beech Street

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  The Caledonian Pipe Band performing in the parade, preceding the Grand Marshall's party