On Sunday March 22nd, the 6th Annual Mystic St. Patrick’s Parade will kick off at 1:00 PM sharp. Over 100 marching units and twenty two marching bands will perform along the parade route from Mystic Seaport Museum to the Mystic Art Association. This year’s parade will be the host to no less than 12 Pipe Bands, more than any other parade in the state! This year were proud to host 3 local high school marching bands from Groton, Stonington and Westerly. In addition to these excellent musicians, we’re expecting 1,300 plus marchers including Irish Step Dancers, Fife & Drum Units, Military Drill Teams, Honor Guard Units from several local organizations and Drum & Bugle Corps. In addition to the musical units, the parade will also feature Classic Antique Cars, High-Tech Firefighting Equipment, Police Units, Scout Troops, and colorful floats designed and fabricated by area businesses. The Grand Marshal this year will be Edward Murphy, a local resident and businessman who is well known throughout the community. The Mystic Irish Parade Foundation would like to honor a very special man of Irish descent, Rev. Theodore J. Klein, with the title of Honorary Grand Marshall 2009.
The parade is funded by proceeds from events organized by the Mystic Irish Parade Foundation, the generosity of local business sponsorships and individual sale of raffle tickets. Surplus funds are donated to local charities. Last years donations included the Southeastern CT Women’s Center, Mystic Flag Pole Committee, Boy Scouts of America, Groton and Stonington Police Benevolent Associations, Centro de la Communidad of New London, Groton Parks and Rec., Mystic YMCA and Society of St. Edmund’s Retreat Center.
Major event sponsors for the 6th Annual Mystic St. Patrick’s Parade include Levine Distributors, F&F Distributors, 106.5 WBMW and Jammin’ 107.7. For more information, or to become a volunteer, please visit our website at www.mysticirishparade.org.
