St Patrick's Parade and Festival- Dublin, GA

Today, March 20th, marks the official start of the Spring season. The first day of Spring occurs when the sun passes above the equator (in the northern hemisphere) and begins to rise higher and higher in the sky as each day in the season progresses towards summer. The days lengthen, the sun's rays get stronger, the birds, bees and bugs come out of hibernation, marking the start of a new birth of all living things. The bees at the Capt Hardy Smith House know Spring is here. Check out all the mounds they are making in the front yard!  I noticed those mounds in the front yard on March 18th, so the bees were off by 2 days, hah!

Don't forget the sunscreen when heading out at this time of the year because the strength of the sun can be deceptive.

It was a sunny, warm and beautiful day for a St Patrick's Parade and Festival in Dublin, GA today. The weather couldn't be more perfect. The sky was blue and the winds light. A few clouds showed up later in the day. The month long celebration is nearing a close with the climax of today being 'Super Saturday' on the calendar of events.

I could not sleep last night because vendors were setting up shop, one of which had a loud generator in the parking lot I could hear from the bathroom. Around, 4am, the street cleaners came past the house and woke me up. Then around 8am, activity from the vendors making their last minute preparations to open before 9am caused Max, the doberman, to bark as people were walking through the parking lot. I thought, I am getting up, no more sleep for me today. The vendor with the camper and loud generator had a little Chihuahua dog that got loose and ran around the house. Max was going crazy barking at it. Of course, Lady, my dog, was still in the bedroom with me, oblivious to what was going on outside. So I got up and got dressed in my St Patrick's Day shirt and accessories to prepare to head over to Stubbs Park to check out the vendors before the crowd would come after the parade.

There were a lot of vendors displaying varying creations and works of art from  Hummingbird feeders and wind chimes made out of bottles, beautiful jewelry to beautiful wooden furniture carved from driftwood in combination with other native timbers of Georgia.

There was plenty of food and drinks to munch on so nobody would go home hungry..No alcohol at this event! There was music, singing and dancing too. At the entrance to the park, there was a rock climbing wall, slides in different sizes, bungee

jumping, a mechanical bull and other carnival type rides.

The parade started around 11:30am and ended around 1:15pm. The flow of entrants were continuous. Marching bands from all the local schools showcased their talent. Local politicians running for office came to drum up support from the crowd along with area businesses, civic groups and community churches displaying their floats in creative splashes of spring color. The police came through displaying their fancy cars, cute ATV's and mobile two wheeled sidewalk riders as I call them.

 Elle Mae (Donna Douglas) from the Beverly Hillbillies came to the parade this year as well as last year.


A new float this year that I personally liked was 'The is no place like Dublin' float. The theme was of the Emerald City in the 'Wizard Of Oz'. Dorothy, The Scarecrow, TinMan and Cowardly Lion, and Toto came.

 

Mr. Pig from Piggy Wiggly along with the KFC Big Chicken, the Chick Fila Cow and a stray roaming clown were visiting with the younger members of the crowd. Candy was being tossed in all directions like a Mardi Gras bead throwing conquest.  Quarter horses and riders in full western wear came parading through to finish up the long, nearly 2 hour entertainment extravaganza. The parade was free and so was the parking! All John and I did was walk a couple of blocks, set up our chairs and we were good to go. The sun was warm and I forgot the sunscreen, so I got a little sunburn. Compared to last year, the parade seemed longer and several thousand people lined the streets and attended the festival afterward. 

All the parking lots within a few blocks of the house were jammed pack full of cars from all over Georgia and even out of state visitors too.  The picture to the left was taken of cars parked on the lot on the west side of the Capt Hardy Smith House. The blue house in the picture in the above right is the Capt Hardy Smith House.  Parking was at such a premium for the parade and festival that cars were found parked at the drive through window areas at Morris Bank across the street from the house! No one parked in our yard except me.  I found a few bits of trash that people threw in the yard after everything was over. The festival at Stubbs Park unfortunately had to close early, around 3:15pm or so, because a couple of fights broke out causing a stir. The police thought it best to close the park and end the festival early for safety of all patrons visiting. Unfortunately for the vendors, they had to pack up and go home with two and a half hours of lost revenue. Almost all the vendors were gone by 6pm and downtown Dublin was almost completely quiet again.

All in all, it was a fun and full day. I look forward to it next year.

Enjoy some pictures from today's event. Keep checking my blog for things going on around Dublin and continuing projects at the Hardy Smith House.