2009 Parade:
Kansas City's 36th Annual St. Patrick's Day parade celebration makes its mark as one of the largest and most notable parade celebrations of all things Irish in the United States. In 2009, the parade has moved from the streets of downtown to midtown--with the whole parade ending in Westport.
On this day, the emerald green wave of floats, leprechauns, and Lucky Charms will head through midtown and down Broadway...turning everyone along the way just a wee bit Irish.
History :
The first St. Patrick’s Day celebrations stem back to 19th Century Kansas City— as the Irish population exploded so did their parades. However, after many years of glory, the parade fizzled in the late 1800’s and the grand celebrations seized.
Mike Murphy to the Rescue:
In 1973, knowing that Kansas Citians were always up for some sort of party, Kansas City’s favorite talk show host, Mike Murphy, and his pals Pat O’Neill and Dan Hoggerty “resurrected” the Irish Parade over drinks at Hoggerty’s local watering hole downtown. The ‘73 version consisted of a painted green calf and was billed “the shortest and worst parade” in history. Since then a lot has changed (over 500,000 watched in '05) making it one of the biggest St. Patrick’s Day parades in the country.
2009 Theme:
This year’s theme is 'Pioneering Spirit: The Irish In KC',” a fitting tribute to the 36th year of the parade and the obviously 'pioneering move' to move the parade route from downtown to midtown.Parade Time and Route Info :
The parade will start at 33rd and Linwood and head south on Broadway to end at 43rd Street in Westport.
Parade is from 11am-1pm.
Television:
The 2009 St. Patrick’s Day Celebration is broadcast live on WDAF-TV Channel 4. Kathy Quinn hosts the live web broadcast from 11am-1pm and on TV from Noon-1pm.
Great Big Floats:
In addition to the traditional parade floats, the 2009 St. Patrick's Day Parade features giant Irish themed balloons similar to those you see at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade.
Just a "Wee" Tip:
Make sure you stay on the same side of the parade as where you parked. If you park on the West side and end up watching the parade on the East, you’re in some serious trouble. You can’t cross over, so you’ll have to walk all the way back to the starting or ending point to get back to your car. Trust me—it happened to me in 2004!
In recent years, the parade committee has thrown up a bunch of barricades, making it next to impossible to jump across…just in case you thought that might work.
