Sunny skies and Irish eyes draw smiles at Brookside St. Patrick’s Day Warm-Up Parade
Kansas City kicked off the St. Patrick’s Day festivities Saturday with a crowd of hundreds gathering to watch the parade before the parade.
The 39th annual St. Patrick’s Day Warm-Up Parade in Brookside might not be as big as the main event — the mega-march through midtown and Westport scheduled to start 11 a.m. Sunday at Linwood and Broadway.
But that didn’t stop throngs of people from lining up several deep to watch dogs, Irish dancers, local elected officials and candidates hoping to become local elected officials as they paraded east down 63rd Street and turned right onto Main Street.
Teresa Beshore said she lives in midtown but decided that after the long winter, Saturday’s weather demanded she make the trip to Brookside for the warm-up parade.
It appeared many other people had the same instinct. Both sides of the street were lined with parked cars for several blocks in all directions.
“We finally had a sunny day out,” Beshore said. “It’s a family-friendly event and we wanted to come over and see what’s going on and spend some time outside.”
Naomi, a friend’s 2-year-old daughter, sat perched on Beshore’s shoulders throughout the parade, excitedly pointing out each shiny vehicle that went by — a mix of classic cars and newer, high-end convertibles.
“She is loving every single car,” Beshore said, “and every single balloon.”
