KINGSTON – Blue skies and warmer weather greeted the entire Kingston community Sunday afternoon, as throngs of happy spectators and participants gathered along the length of Broadway to enjoy the 2018 St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Numerous public officials marched in the parade, notably Congressman John Faso, Ulster County Executive Michael Hein, and Kingston Mayor Steven Noble. Other dignitaries included county legislators, city councilmen, local police, firefighters, veterans, marching bands, and businesses.
Pipers on Parade
What’s a parade without happy kids?
One of the largest and most popular parades in the Hudson Valley, the Kingston St. Patrick’s Parade is co-sponsored by the Ancient Order of Hibernians Fr. Con Colbert Woulfe Division 1 and the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians Division 5 of Ulster County in cooperation with the City of Kingston.
Judging from the crowd size and duration of the event, it would be simpler to list who wasn’t there – since nearly everybody else attended. One welcome absence was Old Man Winter, with temperatures in the low 40s throughout the day.
“We have perfect weather after two big nor’easters, everybody’s come together and become Irish for a day, it’s pretty exciting,” Hein said. “The weather has gotten nice, the community has all turned out, it’s a great opportunity to remind us why Ulster County is the best place anywhere.”
Congressman Faso was equally pleased with the climate. “Nice crowd, lots of friendly people, and a lot of folks who are Irish today, even if they’re not. I’m half-Irish and half-Italian, so the Irish is shining today,” Faso said.
Most jubilant, however, were the small children, who squealed with glee as they gathered oodles of candy tossed their way from the miles of floats which made their way down the boulevard.
Previous parades in recent memory had been downright nippy, causing frostbitten little fingers suffered by the youngsters. This year they were well pleased to be not wearing any gloves.
The Shamrock Run, a charitable mini-marathon which precedes the parade, had thousands of participants, a little bit more than last year by estimate. The official numbers were not immediately available, but last year had over 4,500 runners.
