Racine to celebrate St. Patrick s Day with a parade

Saturday, March 3, 2007 2:31 AM CST

Racine to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with a parade

Journal Times staff

RACINE - Downtown Racine will host a Patrick's Day Parade on March 17.

The parade will include more than 40 entries and will feature leprechauns, Irish music, costumed characters, a drum and bugle corps, an Irish troubadour, dancers, beauty queens, Irish wolfhounds and more. The parade will be led by this year's Grand Marshall Jeff McKeown along with Gary the Bagpiper.

Other notable participants will include:

n Racine's only 100 percent Irish law firm of Crawford, Crawford & Stutt. They will ride in a 1957 Ford retractable convertible driven by John Vassh.

n The Sons of Erin will have 20-25 participants plus Harley Davidson motorcycles and an antique fire engine.

n Local artist Bill Reid will drive his fire truck, sponsored by the Racine Art Museum.

n Mayor Gary Becker and other city and county officials.

The parade will start at Main and State streets at noon. It will travel south on Main Street to Sixth Street and then right on Sixth Street to City Hall. Spectators are encouraged to come early and stay late to enjoy shopping, dining and fun throughout Downtown Racine. Many of the Downtown establishments will offer special St. Patrick's Day activities including Irish menus, music and drink specials.

The St. Patrick's Day parade is sponsored by Johnson Bank and Guinness with support from many others.

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