Everyone is Irish for Saturday parade

Historic City News readers from St Johns County and visitors from out-of-town could be from anywhere in the world; but, this weekend, they all will be Irish as Romanza presents the St Augustine Celtic Music and Heritage Festival and St Patrick’s Day Parade.

Saturday morning is all about St Augustine’s tribute to the traditional St Patrick’s Day Parade. The 3rd Annual St Patrick’s Day Parade, steps off at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 9, 2013, at Francis Field in St Augustine.

This event is free with viewing along the sidewalks of the parade route as it follows the bayfront to the Bridge of Lions, takes a right down Cathedral Place, and returns to its origin via Cordova Street.

Floats, marching bands, pipes and drums, horse drawn carriages, military units – the St. Augustine St. Patrick’s Day parade has them all.

Two pre-opening events will be held today, a Highland Games Clinic from 2:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. and a ticket-only VIP Whiskey Tasting from 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.

“The hands-down favorite of the St Augustine Celtic festival is the music,” said event organizer John Cunningham. “We’re talking Scots-born Albannach, Ireland’s Dublin City Ramblers, and Jacksonville Beach’s own Rathkeltair and Spade McQuade and the Allstars who have attracted fans from throughout Florida and Georgia, Savannah to St Augustine, Orlando and The Villages — arguably the best collaboration of Celtic artists assembled in the United States.”

This weekend’s celebration will honor the great traditions of music, dance and all things Celtic. Scottish and Irish bands will be playing both traditional tunes and modernized renditions of the ancient Celtic music live on stage throughout the two-day festival.

The sounds of the ancient Celtic peoples of Scotland and Ireland are as alive today as ever, and the sponsors of this year’s events, promise that you will find the Celt in you as you take in the sights, sounds and tastes of centuries of European history.

Celtic clans from around the world show their ancestral pride, Highland games athletes demonstrate their mind-boggling strength, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade marches through the streets of the Oldest City’s Historic District, and vendors offer up Celtic cuisine and hand-made crafts.