The Retort

Erin Go Bragh and All That Jazz

March 26th, 2010 by Lou Donaldson Of The Retort Staff

Billings’s 29th Annual St. Patrick’s Day parade was held Saturday, March 13. However, this parade was not put on by the city of Billings, and hasn’t been since 2007 when the Save Our Parade committee was formed after the city decided to cancel the parade for what they said was unexpected insurance costs. The parade is now put on by Big Sky Senior Services and the Save Our Parade Committee.

Personally, I would almost say that the parade is better now than it was when the city was running it. Now before anyone gets all prissy, my reasoning for it is that aside from the parade, there is also a street fair with booths for the kids and, as an added benefit, Big Sky Senior Services sells Butte pasties, shepherd’s pie and Irish stew at the Yellowstone Valley Brewing Company, which is located downtown just off the parade route. The brewing company also sells corned beef and cabbage and other traditional dishes for the event.

If interested in making a donation to the Save Our Parade Group so that we can keep our city’s tradition of great opportunity for the family and kid friendly fun and great food that is known as the St. Patrick’s Day parade alive, go to the Save Our Parade website. Here you can make a donation, register your group/organization for a spot in the parade, get information about getting a vendor booth, or just find out more about the committee. If nothing else, the site is worth a look, because let’s face it people - celebration is the fruit of life and it’s the little things in life that make it worth living.