2010 Huntington Saint Patrick's Day Parade Sunday
Sunday,
March 14th, 2010 @ 2:00 PM
When: Sunday
March 14, 2010 @ 2:00pm
Where: Parade will kick off just north of
the Huntington Train Station along New York Avenue before turning west
onto Main Street ending at Saint Patrick's Church
It
was the early 1930's; the nation was in the grips of the Great Depression.
Finnegans had just opened the day after Prohibition ended to cater to the
growing population of Irish workers. Down the street, Valencia Tavern opened
the same day to cater to the Italian laborers. Although times were tough, a
great community tradition was started when the entire town came together to
celebrate the first St. Patrick's Day Parade held on Long Island.
Seventy six years later,
thanks to the Huntington Ancient Order of Hibernians, Huntington residents
continue to come together to celebrate the unofficial start of spring on the
second Sunday of March.
Over the past 76 years,
the parade has grown to become the oldest and largest on Long Island. While
there are only a few folks around who remember that first St. Patrick's day
parade, they will tell you that it is the day Huntington puts her best face
forward and everyone has a wee bit of Irish in them. Each year up to 50,000
current and former residents jam Huntington Village for this wonderful
family and community event. More important than ever, the Parade is alsoa
tremendous catalyst to the local Huntington economy, with spectators packing
the local restaurants, shops, and pubs. With the current rough economic
times, "buying local" not only feels good it helps all of us.
The core of the Parade is of course the Bagpipe bands, and no parade on Long
Island can match the Huntington's line-up with bands from all over the
Island. This year the Parade will include over 25 marching bands. See the
complete Line of March in the center section for a complete list.
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Although the Scots lay
claim to the bagpipe, the bagpipe existed in Ireland long before Scotland.
It was used during religious celebrations, funerals and to assemble
villagers and town's people in time of emergences and in time of war. So,
when you hear the sounds of the pipes being played it will touch the hearts
of all who listen and remind us of the Irish of centuries ago who fought for
freedom in this country and in Ireland.
The Huntington Ancient Order of Hibernians will once again, as is this their
custom, march dressed in their distinctive gray morning suit tuxedos. "We
take a great deal of pride in putting on the Parade," said AOH President
Dominick Feeney, Jr., whose grandfather was a founding father of the current
Huntington AOH. "We work hard to make sure the Saint Patrick's Day Parade is
a wonderful Huntington community event."
Standing Chairman, Rich
McGrath adds, "many residents mistakenly think the Town sponsors the parade
each year, but in truth it's actually the Hibernians who organize, promote,
run and raise the money needed to pay for all the expenses associated with
putting on this spectacular parade. Each year, the Hibernians go door to
door soliciting donations from local businesses for advertisements which
appear in this special St. Patrick's Day Parade edition of the Long Islander
and Record. It is these generous ad sponsors that enable us to run the
parade, so we hope folks support their businesses."
The
Parade honors Saint Patrick, the patron Saint of Ireland, who converted the
pagan Celts to Christianity around the year 430 A.D. St. Patrick founded the
cathedral church of Armagh, and it soon became the center of the Church's
activities in Ireland. During his three decades in Ireland, he raised the
standards of scholarship, encouraged the study of Latin and brought Ireland
into closer relations with the rest of the Western Church until his death on
March 17, in 461 A.D.
The Ancient Order of
Hibernians is a national Irish-American Catholic organization that was
founded in New York City in 1836 and whose roots can be traced back to
Ireland. The AOH. Is dedicated to preserving Irish heritage. Their motto is
"Friendship, Unity and Christian Charity," and a large portion of their work
is devoted to charity. In the past few years, the Huntington AOH has raised
tens of thousands of dollars for various charitable organizations including
being one of the leading donors to the town's eight local parish food
pantries. The Division funds educational scholarships foe the two colleens,
as well as a high school educational scholarship for a St. Anthony's high
school student.
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If you, or anyone you
know, are interested in joining the Ancient Order of Hibernians please
visit our
membership section or call 631-261-8293. Meetings are held on the second
Wednesday of the month at the VFW/AOH Hall at 210 West Pulaski Road at 7:30
PM.
The Parade will kick off just north of the Huntington Train Station along
New York Avenue before turning west onto Main Street ending at Saint
Patrick's School. It begins promptly at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 14th, 2010. But
get there early; good viewing spots go quickly!
www.HuntingtonHibernians.com
