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Green mohawks on toddlers. Green beads on grandmas. Shamrock headbands on pooches.
The St. Patrick's Day parade Saturday in downtown Omaha proved a festive time for hundreds of people of all ages, including out-of-towners.
Jessica Froke, 29, of Sioux Falls, S.D., who has been coming to the parade the last several years, was making it magical.
She waved a green shamrock wand in the air with one hand and held up her fluffy green boa in the other. She couldn't stop dancing to the sounds of bagpipes and high school marching bands.
“This is so neat,” Froke said. “The parade in Sioux Falls is today too, but we drove to Omaha instead. We come down every year.”
Folks from Chicago, Council Bluffs and O'Neill, Neb., made sure not to miss this year's parade and festivities.
The parade, sponsored by the Ancient Order of Hibernians, featured World-Herald columnist Michael Kelly as grand marshal.
Mike Grear of Omaha, wearing tons of beads, orange stick-on sideburns and eyebrows and a furry green top hat, sipped on a cocktail outside a restaurant as the parade cruised by.
“I really like the families coming out and celebrating,” Grear said.
His wife, Nancy, donned a green knitted hat to keep warm in the brisk wind. “This parade gets much bigger every year,” she said.
Politicians waved and handed out stickers and candy. More than 80 parade entries tried to woo the judges.
Barrett Plumbing grossed out spectators with its entry — green water oozing out of an overflowing toilet. That was voted among the top entries.
The Panthers Drill Team, also selected as one of the best entries, got everyone moving with fast-paced dance moves.
Spectator Lori Wildhagen of Omaha's Elkhorn area waved her hands in the air and rocked her hips side to side. “Woo-hoo,” she yelled. “Yeah!”
Wildhagen said she was excited because the parade is the kickoff to several days of celebrating. St. Patrick's Day is Wednesday.
“This is the start of it all,” she said. “I'm Irish, and I take St. Patrick's Day off from work every year. It's a time to be with family and enjoy everybody.”
Eight-year-old Makenzie Capellupo of Omaha looks forward to the holiday and parade for a different reason: “the candy.”
“This is a lot of fun,” she said.
The parade was delayed for about 20 minutes when a spectator, a woman in her 40s or 50s, slipped and fell, cutting her head.
Officer Michael Pecha, an Omaha Police Department spokesman, said the parade was delayed so emergency crews could reach her. He said that the woman declined medical treatment and that her injury was not serious.
Steve Smith of Council Bluffs sipped on a Guinness inside a restaurant and watched the last leg of the parade go by.
“This is just one big party,” Smith said. “I'm not Irish, but everyone's Irish this time of year.”
Contact the writer:
444-1336, leia.mendoza@owh.com
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