More than a thousand people lined Bell Boulevard in Bayside, to celebrate the 6th annual Bayside St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Saturday April 6th.
The parade, which featured hundreds of participants of all ages, began at the intersection of 35th Avenue and Bell Boulevard at 1 p.m. and continued for eight blocks before concluding at 43rd Avenue.
A number of groups, including marching bands, dance troupes, Irish-American organizations, and Gaelic football teams marched in Saturday’s parade, which also featured several pipes and drums bands.
Several local organizations, including the Bayside Historical Society and Bayside Business Association, also marched in the parade.
Sean Lane, the Chairman of the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade, was Grand Marshal for Saturday’s event, which took place three weeks after St. Patrick’s Day due to scheduling conflicts with other parades in the city.
Elected officials including Council Member Vicky Paladino and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards – styling himself as O’Donovan Richards for the occasion – also took part in Saturday’s parade.
Richards said afterward that he was proud to call himself five percent Irish.
“It’s so good to see so many people out from Bayside celebrating the contributions of the Irish who have played such an intricate role in building this city and building this nation,” Richards said. “And on days like this, it’s a reminder of how important our diversity is, that we must celebrate it.”
Richards, who also attended the St. Pat’s For All Parade in Sunnyside at the beginning of March, said it was important to celebrate Irish heritage throughout Queens and New York City.
“I think it’s important to spread it out. that we do this everywhere,” Richards said. “During a time of such division we see in the country, the way you break down the walls of ignorance is by celebrating, showing the world what we have to offer here.”
Saturday’s parade also featured an Irish-American pro-life organization and several local Republican groups that received cheers and jeers from different sections of the crowd.
Richards said it was important that all political viewpoints should be welcomed in the parade.
“This country was built on the foundation and premise of us being able to have different opinions. It’s not about the way we disagree, it’s how we do it,” Richards said.
“We should be able to do that peacefully and still be able to come together to celebrate each other on days like this.”
George Stein, Marketing Director and co-founder of the Bayside St. Patrick’s Day Parade, said Saturday’s parade celebrates the diversity of the Bayside community, while also paying tribute to the area’s Irish heritage.
“If you go into the different parishes and the different community groups, you find a tremendous diversity here. This is what Queens is known for and I’m very proud to be involved with this.”
“We embrace everybody. And that’s what Bayside is all about. The amount of people that donate their time to the Little Leagues, to the church groups, to the different things that are going on in the community.”
