Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood was transformed into a milelong sea of green Sunday, as tens of thousands of revelers endured frigid weather to tramp down Western Avenue during the annual South Side Irish St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
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From the spectators who painted their lips and faces green to the red-and-green tartan kilts worn by bagpipers to the greenbacks flowing at local taverns, Sunday was a day for everyone to don the color of the shamrock and boast a wee bit of Irish.
“When it comes time for St. Patrick’s Day, it’s OK for all of us to say we’ve got a little Irish in us,” said Carlos Garcia of the South Side, who comes from a decidedly un-Irish background but still felt comfortable enough Sunday to wear a towering Cat-in-the-Hat-style head piece with the words “I’m lucky I’m Irish” emblazoned across it.
“That’s the fun of St. Patrick’s Day,” Garcia added.
The South Side parade, which began as a jaunt among neighborhood friends more than 20 years ago, has grown into a cultural event that attracted 12,500 marchers this year.
Participants included local Irish family floats, dancers and bagpipers, and Michael Leahy, mayor of Galway, Ireland. The parade also attracted a host of politicians plying for votes, as well as partiers packing potent drinks.
The South Side parade has become so popular it rivals the status of the one officially sanctioned by the City of Chicago, which wended through the Loop on Saturday.
“We don’t like to talk about competition between the two, but ours is getting more popular and much bigger every year,” said Mary Beth Sheehan, who works on the South Side parade committee. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for people to reconnect with their extended families and with their neighbors.”
The Beverly parade long has been known for its family flair, and this year was no different. Hundreds of moms, dads, grandmas and grandpas took their kids and grandkids, hoping to pass down a tradition.
“As a kid growing up on the South Side, we never missed the parade,” said Matthew Stoginski, who showed up this year with his wife and two young sons.
“It’s something we looked forward to every year. The whole neighborhood came down and we watched the parade, played with our friends, drank hot chocolate,” he added.
“I guess I just want to make sure my kids have those same memories,” said Stoginski, as he tried to warm up the hands of his 4-year-old son, Kevin.
Marty Keane of Palos Heights escorted his 10-year-old grandson to the parade because he wanted to make sure he “got a feel for what it means to be Irish.”
“It’s important to celebrate our heritage,” said Keane, whose mother and father came from Ireland. “It reminds us of who we are and where we came from.”
But families were not the only ones celebrating.
For every child with an oversize green shamrock, there was a teenager or 20-something with an oversize mug of beer.
And despite warnings by the Chicago Police Department that anyone carrying an open bottle of alcohol could be ticketed or arrested, alcohol was in no short supply. The west side of Western Avenue, long known as the “wet” side, was awash in booze.
“We come to party,” shouted Kyle O’Malley, 24, a South Sider who gathered with a bunch of college buddies and boldly admitted he had spent so much time in and out of bars he had not seen one float, one marcher or one bagpiper during the two-hour parade.
Despite the joyous celebration, there was a least one moment for silent reflection.
Halfway down the parade route, at 10611 S. Western Ave., two large crepe paper shamrocks hung on black easels, roped off by yellow police tape. “Firefighter Patrick King” and “Firefighter Anthony Lockhart” read the signs above the arrangements.
Chicago firefighters King and Lockhart died last month when the roof of tire store collapsed on them during a blaze.
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