By Angela Holmes
angela@corridorbusiness.com
Each year downtown Cedar Rapids sees green as thousands turn out for the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade, but this year is shaping up to be particularly revelatory as SaPaDaPaSo (that’s short for Saint Patrick’s Day Parade Society) celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.
The holiday parades – always held on March 17 – have attracted anywhere from 10,000-50,000 spectators over the past four decades, depending on the weather and the day of the week St. Patrick’s Day falls on, said SaPaDaPaSo President Lisa Dalziel.
“Cedar Rapids loves the parade and they come out no matter what,” she said.
That influx of people results in a nice spike in business for downtown-area establishments, especially bars, restaurants and taxi services, said Jennifer Pickar, director of communications and marketing of the Cedar Rapids Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.
In the past several years, patrons have been introduced a new crop of restaurants downtown, including Rock Bar American Grill, Bistro on the River and Ruby’s Pizzeria.
“We’ve talked to bars along the route who say it is their best day of the year,” Ms. Dalziel said. “It gets people downtown, especially after the flood.”
Dublin City Pub, 415 First St. SE, is a popular place to celebrate all things Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. Along with Irish Stew, which is on the regular menu, the pub serves that quintessential Irish staple, corned beef and cabbage, on the holiday.
Owner Matt Blake said the Tuesday date should help control the crowds this year, although the nice weather forecasted for the day could bring more winter-weary Iowans outside.
“It’s early in the week, so it might not be as crazy,” he said. “If it falls on the weekend, we do twice the business as a normal day.”
Ms. Dalziel agreed that parade’s turnout might be a little lower this year because kids will be in school during the parade that starts at 1 p.m.
“It is a family-oriented event,” she said.
To mark the 40th anniversary, SaPaDaPaSo has collaborated with Quinton McClain, owner of Lion Bridge Brewery in Czech Village, to release a special Irish potato stout called Olde No. 17.
“SaPaDaPaSo approached me about doing a beer for their 40th anniversary,” Mr. McClain said. “It’s a dry Irish stout with an added 100 pounds of potatoes.”
He made two 300-gallon batches of the limited-release seasonal brew, which is a good thing considering the first batch has already sold out.
“I’m sure it will be back next year,” he said.
Although typically not open on Tuesdays, Lion Bridge will open at 10 a.m. on St. Patrick’s Day.
Lion Bridge will also feature a special Irish bangers-and-mash entrée made with sausages from The Sausage Foundry, which will soon open in the NewBo City Market.
Last year Lion Bridge had only been open a week by the time St. Patrick’s Day rolled around.
“It was busy, but not crazy,” Mr. McClain said.
He plans to be busy again on March 21, when the St. Joseph’s Day Parade celebrating Czech heritage begins at 1 p.m. in New Bohemia and ends in Czech Village.
“A year in, we know better what to anticipate and what we are capable of,” he said of the increased parade crowds.
Humble beginnings
The St. Patrick’s Day parade was initiated innocently enough Aug. 30, 1975, when WMT radio announcer Dick Hardiman announced that it was only 200 days to St. Patrick’s Day. That sparked interest in holding a parade.
The first St. Patrick’s Day parade in Cedar Rapids was held March 17, 1976. Dubbed “The First and Last, One of a Kind, Ecumenical, St. Patrick’s Day Parade,” it lasted four minutes and was a block and a half long. The second parade in 1977 doubled, to 10 minutes long.
After Mr. Hardiman left Cedar Rapids later that year to pursue other job opportunities, a group of Irish residents gathered to discuss keeping the parade going. The name SaPaDaPaSo was coined one night on a cocktail napkin, taking the first two letters of the words in “Saint Patrick’s Day Parade Society.”
Since then, the parade has become a Cedar Rapids institution. Organizers now cap the number of parade entries at 100 to keep it from becoming too unwieldly.
The parade is solely funded by SaPaDaPaSo, a 501c3 nonprofit, through a combination of donations and fundraisers.
SaPaDaPaSo memberships are $5. Currently, there are 78 paid memberships with about 25 “super-active” members. Members don’t have to be Irish, Ms. Dalziel said, but must appreciate Irish heritage and love the parade.
The cost to put on the parade is about $10,000 to pay for things like extra police coverage, private security, portable toilets and a bandshell.
The biggest fundraiser is the Irish Hooley, held in early March. This year’s Hooley was held March 8 in the armory at Veterans Auditorium in downtown Cedar Rapids.
The annual post-parade ceremony will begin immediately following the parade March 17 at the Flamingo restaurant, 1211 Ellis Blvd. NW. Awards will be handed out around 4:30 p.m. Guest judges are “Good Fishing” host Babe Winkelman, his wife and his daughter, all of whom will sit in the bandstand on Third Avenue.
The ceremony will also feature live music by local band Irish Jam. The public is welcome.
