There’s an old saying that “Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day.”
The Beverly/Morgan Park community will offer a head start on that sentiment on Sunday.
The South Side Irish Parade will proceed down Western Avenue once again, after a two-year COVID-19 hiatus. The parade will step off at noon at 103rd Street and march south to 115th Street. In the past, according to the parade’s organizers, as many as 150,000 viewers have lined the street to watch the parade.
Two parade mainstays, bagpipe and drum bands and the Irish wolfhounds, are scheduled to return this year.
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The Stockyard Kilty Band, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2021 and is the oldest pipe and drum band still operating in Chicago, is scheduled to lead off the parade.
“It’s great that the South Side Irish parade is restarting this year. The band always looks forward to this parade — it’s a fun event, with a good crowd and a good atmosphere,” said Matt McKee, the band’s pipe major.
McKee said 35 to 40 band members will be playing that day. Many are South Siders, and family and friends line the parade route to cheer them on.
Humans aren’t the only ones who enjoy marching in the parade, and the Great Lakes Irish Wolfhound Association plans to march with the Irish American Alliance, a social and charitable club.
“March just hasn’t been the same without the parades. The dogs love the interaction with people and seeing their dog friends from other events,” said Madeleine Mahoney, who with her husband, Joe, their family dogs has participated in the parade for years. “Our dog reacts when he hears bagpipes on TV. He stops whatever he’s doing to watch. I wouldn’t be surprised if he associates the bagpipe music with the parades.”
The day starts with a family event along the parade route at the Beverly Arts Center, 2407 W. 111th St.
The Beverly Arts Center Family Stage will feature “Tralee,” an original musical puppet play for children put on by Jeannie McQueenie Productions, the Beverly-based production company of artist/educator Jean Vanier.
The play, developed by Vanier from a children’s short story, is about the rivalry of two towns, Tralee and Tralah, in an annual St. Patrick’s Day decorating contest and the arrival of a leprechaun who influences the situation.
Vanier wrote original music and five songs for the play, and all puppets are handled by high school students from the BAC theater program.
“This is an adaptation of an Irish story, and the original songs are fun, as are the characters and the hand-painted scenery. The children are so excited about working with the puppets. I love working with them and seeing their enthusiasm, and watching them fall in love with their puppets,” Vanier said.
Kevin Pease, the center’s artistic director, said the parade day show, which has an admission charge, was a great fit with their family programming mission.
“It’s been a pleasure to connect with Jean,” he said. “She does beautiful, thoughtful work, of a very high caliber.”
The puppet performances will be followed by a performance from Character Fleadh, a Chicago-based acoustic band featuring traditional Irish and Scottish music.
Pease said admission to the event will include guaranteed parking, so people can leave their cars at the center while they stroll just steps away to Western Avenue to watch the parade.
Beverly Arts Center will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., with the puppet performances first thing in the morning. Attendees will have wristbands that will allow them to come and go from the building, and the concession stands will be open. Ticket information and prices are at thebeverlyartscenter.com.
Carol Flynn is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.