March 5, 2011 By Christian Murray
The 12th annual Sunnyside/Woodside St. Pats For All parade is scheduled to take place this Sunday at 47thStreet and Skillman Ave (details below).
The parade, which has typically started at 43rd and Skillman, has been shortened this year following the New York Police Dept.’s decision to reduce the length of all parades. Nevertheless, this year 100 groups have registered to march, more than any other year. One group has 100 members.
The St. Pats For All parade was initially viewed as a gay-pride parade, since it was started by a number of Irish men and women who were not allowed to march in the St. Patrick’s Day parade on Fifth Ave under a gay banner.
Today, the Sunnyside/Woodside event has morphed into more of a community parade, which includes seniors, children, minorities and even local canines.
“We want it to be about Irish culture with a focus on building a bridge to different groups in the neighbourhood,” said Brendan Fay, a co-chair with Kathleen Walsh D’Arcy.
“When we say St. Pats for all, we mean it,” Fay said. “We have Mexican, Bolivian, Ecuadorian and Chilean groups coming” Fay said.
But the event will still remain true to its Irish heritage. There will be bagpipe bands and traditional Irish musicians, as well as Irish folk dancers.
This year’s Grand Marshals are Patricia Lewsley, Commissioner for Children and Young People in Northern Ireland, and James P. Cullen, Brigadier General (Ret.) and founding President of the Brehon Law Society.
Cullen, who is a human rights lawyer and is originally from Sunnyside, organised a collation of retired army generals who advised President Barack Obama on shutting down Guantanamo Bay.
DETAILS
Takes place
Sunday, March 6
People assemble for the parade at 1:30 for music (46th and Skillman)
Parade begins at 2:00: 47thand Skillman Ave.
Ends: 58th Street and Woodside Ave.
