Saint Patrick’s Day Parade, Orcas-style

–by Margie Doyle —

Patty Monaco leads the St. Patrick’s Day Parade

[metaslider id=42039]

The sun was brilliant, the sky was bloooooooooooooooo, and there was a brisk nip to the air as the St. Patrick’s Day Parade wove through the streets of Orcas Island yesterday, March 17.

Patty Monaco was Grand Marshall this year, and Ken Speck led the band on Russ Harvey’s flatbed truck in renditions of “When Irish Eyes are Smiling” and “McNamara’s Band.” Tony Lee, parade organizer and song leader, drove nonagenarian Harry Patton, who threw out leprechaun pots of gold with abandon from the truck.

Following the parade, the group retired to the White Horse Pub for midday fare and grog, and Tony Lee sang a song in Gaelic, followed by “The Parting Glass.” The pub was treated to a singalong version of TooRaLooRaLooRa, an Irish lullaby before the merrymakers went back to work.