After a hiatus last year, the parade will now be shorter than ever
By Sarah Richardson
The Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade on the east coast will be returning to downtown Lewisburg on St. Patrick’s Day, Mar. 17. This year, the holiday falls on a Monday, and the parade route will run from Patina’s to Greenbrier Valley Theatre, the shortest route yet at 50 feet! Previous years have seen the route go from the Wild Bean to the Washington Street Pub (150-some feet), and then in a new locale at Montwell Commons from Amy’s Market to Hill & Holler (90-some feet).
Patrick O’Flaherty has returned as an event organizer and will be providing live traditional Celtic music before and after the parade. He will play from 4 to 8 p.m. at GVT, with a break at 5 p.m. as the parade lineup begins. The lineup starts at 5 p.m. at Patina, and the parade itself will kick off at 5:30. This year’s Grand Marshal is Tommy Wiggins.
The new Patron Services Coordinator of GVT, Dennis Ott, says this event will be a hint of some changes that are coming to GVT this year. The GVT Lounge will be open in a new capacity for parade-goers both before and after the parade with Irish brews at the bar, including Guinness, and some Irish stew from Blackwell’s Catering. Ott promises it will be a “good time for all” in the GVT Lounge.
