About Birmingham's Annual
St. Patrick's Day Parade
The annual St. Patrick's Day Parade in Birmingham is a joint effort between Operation New Birmingham, The Alabama Celtic Association and related organizations. Traditionally held, rain or shine, the parade travels along 20th Street to the delight of both the crowds who line the streets and the folks in the office buildings that tower over historic downtown Birmingham
Units in the parade have included: The Birmingham Irish Cultural Society, Knights of Columbus, John Carroll High School Marching Band, Bagpipe Bands, Irish Dance Schools, Alabama Celtic Association, Birmingham Police Mounted Patrol, The Shamrock Court, Civic Organizations, Special Interest Clubs, Car Collections, School Groups, and many others.
The Birmingham St. Patrick's Day Parade is one of the oldest and largest in the Southeastern U.S.
How To Participate in the
St. Pat's Parade & Shamrockin!
Please consider forming a unit to walk, ride or roll in the St. Patrick's Day Parade this year. We want very much to include organizations, clubs, churches and businesses who would like to join the fun! It's a great way to increase visibility for your organization as well as for upcoming performances, products or projects!
GET your GREEN on at SHAMROCKIN' in Five Points South! Live entertainment, booths, activities and displays are the festive trademarks of the family-friendly post-parade event. If you'd like to join the exhibitors, entertainment or to volunteer, we'd love to hear from YOU!
To reserve your spot in the Parade line-up or at the Shamrockin' Street Festival, contact Geoff Langdon at 205-328-3595 Ext. 114 or e-mail tgeoff123@aol.com
Irish Parade Ideas
For Business, Clubs and Organizations
Want to add a little "Irish" or "Green" uniformity to your parade unit?
Ireland's Flag:
Make Irish Flags for everyone in your unit. The left section is green, the middle white, and the right is orange. You can also pick up any shiny, lightweight fabric from the discount tables at the fabric store cut it into yard-long banners and glue it to small wooden dowel rods from the hardware store. Simple flags are cheap, easy and visible!
Green Paper Plate Shamrock:
Staple paper plates together to form a shamrock shape and spray paint them green. Variations: Make the shamrocks sparkle with green or gold glitter. Hot glue wooden paint stirrers to the shamrocks.
Green Face Paint / Green Hair:
C'mon, you know you want to. These paints and sprays can also be found at Party City, Wal-mart and on the Internet..
Green/Gold Helium Balloons:
These are a fantastic way to be visible and festive and GREEN! Lots of latex ballons can be found at the Dollar Stores, Walmart/Kmart, Party City etc.
Irish Hats, Vests and T-Shirts:
These can be found pretty inexpensively at Party City, Big Lots and other shops that carry holiday/seasonal goods. Novelties in bulk (ex. Irish derby hats = $.50) can be ordered through www.orientaltrading.com .
O' and Mc' Your Name:
To get into the spirit of St. Patrick's Day, put a little "Irish" in your names for the day. Add the prefix "Mc" or "O" to the name of your business or organization banner. Adding "Mc" to created many Irish names given Christian names. Adding "O" to the grandfather's name--"O means of the family", made other Irish names.
Candy and Beads:
These parade throws are a fun option. It does however make a big impression on the kids along the parade route (these kids can range from age 2 to 70). Some groups bring candy and beads to throw into the crowds. Some bring green "silly string" and spray the crowd. Wint-o-green Liefsavers are good.
Floats:
A great project for pubs/clubs/businesses. Float how-tos can be found on the Internet easily. If your group or business has a company truck or van please bring it! Decorating it with gold and green streamers, tinsel, window paint and other things is half the fun! NOTE: After-Christmas Sales are the BEST place to pick up green and gold garlands, bows and other ribbons and other decorating accessories - at great low prices.
Big Puppets:
For the club or business with both talent and some storage space, Giant Puppets are the HIT of any parade! The good thing is that these can be re-used for any festival or parade any time. Here's a website with lots of ideas and how-to hints on building big puppets.http://www.gis.net/~puppetco/
Costumes:
Consider something that relates to your group/business and "costume up" accordingly. For example - Attorney's Office = pirates, devils etc. (hey, we're just having some fun here), Nurses = vampires, angels of mercy, Students = dunce caps, Garden Club = Big Flowers, Ski Club = ski hats...you get the idea. Be as creative and/or absurd as you like!
Animals and Pets:
Always welcome! Dogs must be leashed (we recommend any pet be easily identified with collar and tags for their safety). We know for a fact that pets like costumes. They do not like to have their fur sprayed with temporary color, though. Animal rescues, kennel clubs, saddle clubs, farms etc. are honored guests at every parade.
Join The Parade!
Once you do it - you'll be hooked! The Birmingham St, Patrick's Day parade is a grand opportunity to shake off the winter blues and stretch your legs and imagination.
PARADE LINE-UP: Floats, bands, horses, clubs and cars should line up at 10:30 AM on Powell Avenue between 18th and 20th Street (near Morris Avenue). Police will have most of the line-up area blocked off for parade traffic only. The Parade will organize on Powell and travel South on 20th Street to end with an afternoon of Irish music, dance and festivities at Shamrockin' in Five Points South.
To reserve your place in the St. Patrick's Day Parade, Contact Advantage Marketing
at 205-328-3595 Ext 114.
