Lone Star Posted March 17, 2009 Posted March 17, 2009 Well, it's now 'official'...... People have heard me bragging about all the hoopla that goes on for St. Patrick's Day here in Savannah, GA. It seems that we've 'moved up' in the ranks for the largest celebration of St. Patrick's Day. We WERE ranked as the 3rd largest St. Patrick's Day celebration in the U.S., falling in behind New York City and Chicago. Notice the key word: WERE According to the Chicago Tribune, they've waved the white flag and surrendered the second place spot to Savannah, GA! Eat your heart out gaelicfirefighter!!! Chicago Tribune says Savannah has second-biggest parade We're No. 2. Our St. Patrick's Day Parade, that is. Right behind the Big Apple. No, this isn't from the local parade committee, the chamber of commerce or any of the other likely suspects. None other than the Chicago Tribune has waved the white flag on behalf of the Windy City. "That's right - it's larger than Chicago's and Boston's, taking a back seat only to New York City," the Tribune said of today's procession in Savannah. The newspaper article, published Saturday, the same day as the St. Patrick's parade in Chicago, didn't say how it reached its conclusion. A call to the Chicago parade committee was not returned Monday. In Savannah, the newspaper's concession of the second spot seemed to draw a collective shrug. "It doesn't mean that much to me," said general parade Chairman John Forbes as he juggled last-minute details. "As far as I'm concerned, Savannah has the best parade," Forbes added. "It doesn't matter who's No. 1 and No. 2 in size." The information, such as it was, wasn't news to John Burke, the 2007 grand marshal. "I already thought we were the second-largest," Burke said, "but the important thing is what this day has become for Savannah. "It's much more than the revelry that counts. It's the recognition of the people who came before us." Joseph Marinelli, president of the Savannah Convention & Visitors Bureau, questioned whether there are objective criteria for ranking parades. "It's a kind of fun thing we don't take very seriously," Marinelli said. "I don't believe there are any hard and true statistics. "It's neat that Savannah is mentioned along with places like New York and Boston as having one of the biggest. ... But I bet if you ask the people in Boston, they'll say theirs is the biggest." No one answered the phone at the parade committee office in Bean Town. The Boston Globe said organizers estimated the crowd at Sunday's parade at more than a half-million people. And what of the committee office in New York? The folks there apparently were busy making sure that their parade, scheduled for today, remains the biggest. There was no answer there, either. http://savannahnow.com/node/690039 Éire go brách! 'Sláinte Mhaith!
Richard B the EMT Posted March 17, 2009 Posted March 17, 2009 (edited) Just mentioning that the Queens County (NY) St Patrick's Day Parade, held in my home area of the Rockaways (held the first Saturday in March), at least in the State of New York, is second in size only to the 5th Avenue one. That is only on the state level, I have no information on interstate. If Savanna has moved up, well, good for all the parade attendees! Edited March 17, 2009 by Richard B the EMT
Doug Posted March 18, 2009 Posted March 18, 2009 If it means anything you still beat out all of Ireland...
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