St. Patrick's Day Parade in NYC

The St. Patrick's Day Parade in NYC is a big deal.  A BIG deal.  

The parade is an all day affair lasting about 6 hours.  The parade snakes along Fifth Avenue from 44th Street all the way to 79th Street, over 1-1/2 miles..

Some background facts:

•  The 2016 parade was the 255th, with the first occurring in 1762
• 2016 is the 100th anniversary of the Easter Uprising in Ireland
• The parade's Grand Marshal was the Hon. George Mitchell, who brokered the Good Friday Agreement in 1998
• About 300 groups marched in the parade, half of which were marching bands

Hon. George Mitchell

Groups of all sorts were part of the parade: marching bands, bagpipers, drum corps, school groups, active military, veterans, colleges, LGBT groups, law enforcement, firefighters, nurses, teachers, public officials, politicians and so on.  While many groups are from the NYC area, many groups come a long way to march in the parade.  Family friends from Orlando visited us for breakfast before watching their son march with the Dr. Phillips High School Marching Band.  Groups from come from all over--Texas, Utah, Georgia, Spain and, of course, Ireland, to name a few.

We snapped some photos to give you a flavor.

Dancing the entire parade route, this group got the memo

Marching Band:  Did not get memo, but they know hats

11 Pipers Piping

These gents know hats

Cool weather did not deter these kilt-clad pipers

A marching band with some young talent; note the pint-sized cymbal player in the center

These gents had a message about Northern Ireland