St. Patrick's Day

It's the wearing of the green in Brookside for the 35th Annual St. Patrick's Day Warm-up Parade, Saturday, March 14th at 2PM, in the Brookside Shopping District.

More than 100 organizations representing groups and families of all ages participate in this fun, family-oriented event. Parade entries march or ride in a variety of vehicles from red wagons to floats to classic cars. Entries include bands, drill teams, Irish dancers, the Jackson County Sheriff Mounted Patrol, and dogs of all shapes and sizes including Basset Hounds, Great Danes and of course, Irish Setters.

Enjoy this letter from a grateful parade participant:
"I wanted to tell you what this parade means to us. We are the people with the buggy pulled by a lawn mower. My husband Richard Price restored the buggy himself years ago and gave the buggy to our son Grady Price when we moved from our farm in Oklahoma to town. Each year we drive 400 miles round trip from Oklahoma to see him in the parade....some years we ride in the buggy but we are getting too old to get in it. (We sold our buggy horse when we moved to town so Grady's brother adapted the buggy to be pulled by a lawn mower.) Grady wanted to honor our Irish heritage as well as proudly use his father's buggy in a parade and Grady lives in Brookside which was a perfect match. We love this parade and hope to see Grady and his family and friends in it for years.......Richard and Karyl Price of Grove, OK. (It makes us so happy that he wants to do this every year.)

Congratulations to the Winners of the Brookside St. Patrick's Day Warm-Up Parade contests. Phillips "66" Service won the award for the Best Overall with a float that brilliantly displayed the theme of "Lucky 13." Complete with a salt shaker, snake-eyes die, a ladder and more displays of "luck" both good and bad. The Drill Team from Benjamin Banneker won for the Best Dance Team. The crowd delighted in their amazing talent and in sync movements as they marched through the crowds. The St. Andrews Episcopal Church won the award for Best Music. The heart stopping, very moving bagpipe melody rang through out Brookside as the bagpipers in their traditional dress uniforms delighted the crowds with music that made the day all the more special! The Honorable Mention was awarded to 5B Candle Makers for their outstanding Anniversary Float depicting ten wonderful years in the Brookside area.