2008 Woodie Awards
Festival celebrates Irish holiday
St. Patrick's Day Parade is estimated to attract 15,000 people
By Vanessa Castañeda
Last update: 5/17/06 at 8:20 AM CST
Deep in the heart of Texas, St. Patrick's Day brings out the Irish spirit in San Antonians.
That spirit is alive and well in financial aid adviser Madeline Lester all yearlong.
She has a home in Cork, Ireland, and her husband, Eamonn Lester, is an Irish native.
She said the Irish on St. Patrick's Day sing and "enjoy themselves, but they're not drunkards," she said, noting her husband, a South Ireland native, doesn't drink at all.
On St. Patrick's Day, Lester and her husband, Eamonn, invite Irish friends to dinner and attend the St. Patrick's Day Parade, one of many events San Antonians can enjoy along the River Walk.
The parade, sponsored by Texas Harp and Shamrock Soceity, is expected to draw more than 15,000 people, said Charlie Leiva, coordinator at the special events office of Hilton Palacio del Rio.
More than 400 volunteers will pour green coloring into the San Antonio River at 4 p.m. March 17 in the Dyeing O' the River Green celebration, Leiva said.
"We use a special environmentally friendly green dye that's absorbed into the water. We have to dye it twice. After one day, it's gone," Leiva said.
The river parade is at 4 p.m. beginning near South St. Mary's Street and ending at La Villita. Bagpipers will float on barges down the river dyed green for the occasion.
The first St. Patrick's Day parade was in New York City March 17, 1762.
"The Irish weren't liked and couldn't get jobs," Eamonn Lester said. "There were signs put up that read 'No Irish need apply.' The Irish marched down the streets together in protest, and that was the first St. Patrick's Day parade."
San Antonians can follow the trail of peanut shells from the River Walk to Dirty Nellie's Irish Pub where Don Rives has been a bartender 22 years.
Rives said St. Patrick's Day is one of the busiest days of the year for the pub.
"We open the door and hold on," Rives said.
The 39th annual wreath-laying ceremony at the Alamo will be at noon at Alamo Plaza.
The Alamo Irish Festival at La Villita, sponsored by the Harp and Shamrock Society, kicks off at 3 p.m. March 17 and ends at midnight at Arneson River Theater.
The festival continues from noon to midnight March 18 and noon till 9 p.m. March 19. There is no admission fee.
The festival will feature musicians, artisans, food vendors, a climbing rock, a bull ride and a giant slide.
"Everyone's welcome to come out," said festival chairman Victor Villegas.
For more information about San Antonio St. Patrick's Day events, call the Paseo del Rio Association at 227-4262.
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