This year, for the first time, I made it to both the Saturday’s Old Neighborhood and Sunday’s Delaware Avenue St. Patrick’s Day parades. BRO’s Rimas Musteikis is working up a post on Saturday’s parade in the Old First Ward, so I figured that I would give a quick summation of what I saw earlier today on Delaware Avenue. It’s funny… for the first time ever I had a hard time getting curbside to catch the action. The street was mobbed. The weather was magnificent and the crowd showed up in droves. I even got to the parade a bit early to stake out a spot, but it was too late so I hopped up on a cement wall at the corner of Delaware and North Streets to observe.
Other than the stellar crowd-observing opportunities and the ever-present blue skies that blanketed the festivities, I noticed many other welcoming sights. It was good to see that Buffalo Homecoming group made a showing this year for the first time. The Queen City Roller Girls always get the crowd cheering, especially since it appeared to be an excellent turnout for the league. The Keystone Cops are probably my favorite group to watch… this year the vehicles were crazier than ever. I also got a kick out of the kids (and parents) in the Buffalo Shamrocks Hockey Club, especially when they ‘Throw Down’. I was sorry to see that one of the classic cars broke down, but in true ‘green’ Buffalo fashion, members of the parade pushed it all the way to the end… talk about spirit.
I spoke to Buffalo Police Chief Donna Berry who told me that she had never seen anything like the turnout for today’s parade. There was a sea of people as far as the eye could see. What a great way to kick off spring and the upcoming event season. I heard Senator Schumer shout out to the crowd that he had left overcast and rainy NYC earlier in the morning, and was thrilled to find it sunny and warm in Buffalo. I’d have to agree – I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a perfect day for the parade… ever!