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Follow the green

Saranac Lake celebrates St. Patrick’s Day with parade

The Muldowney clan marches down Main Street in Saranac Lake’s St. Patrick’s Day parade Friday. They followed the thin green line along Broadway and Main Street, seen here under the flag. (Enterprise photo — Chris Knight)

SARANAC LAKE — The village’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities got a little bit bigger and a little bit greener in their second year.

Friday’s event, held under sunny skies, featured a parade through downtown that started at 4 p.m. Unlike last year’s inaugural St. Patrick’s Day parade, which ran from the Harriestown Town Hall to Berkeley Green, this year’s was longer and had more entries.

It started in front of the U.S. Post Office on Broadway and finished at the town hall.

The procession, among others, featured local elected officials from across the Tri-Lakes, students from St. Bernard’s School and Northern Lights School, and kids from the Saranac Lake Youth Center and the Saranac Lake High School varsity girl’s lacrosse team. There was also plenty of entertainment, including the local Celtic group the Hills of Gorse, the Lawn Chair Ladies and the Canoodlers, the latter two groups reprising their routines from this year’s Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Parade.

New this year, the parade also featured a “Marching of the Clans.” Local families with Irish roots walked together and carried banners bearing their family names.

Fiddler Jeff Couture plays for kids watching Saranac Lake’s St. Patrick’s Day parade Friday while percussionist Joe Dockery loans them some shakers. (Enterprise photo — Peter Crowley)

Howard Riley, a former village mayor and current Harrietstown councilman, was the parade’s grand marshal.

Following the parade, participants and spectators gathered in the Harrietstown Town Hall auditorium for a short concert. St. Bernard’s students, under the direction of Jessica Deeb, sang a pair of Irish songs: “McNamara’s Band” and “Molly Malone.” The Hills of Gorse — Jeff Couture on fiddle, Sue Grimm-Hanley on whistle, Joe Dockery on percussion and Pete Benson on guitar — performed a trio of traditional Celtic jigs and songs. Bagpiper Cameron Anderson also played for the festive crowd.

Riley treated the crowd to a series of jokes and anecdotes. Johnny Muldowney of the Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce handed out a series of awards for those who took part in the Marching of the Clans. Youngest participant went to Walter Smith, and oldest participant went to Pat Finn. The Finn clan received an award for being the largest family to walk in the parade.

The parade was co-sponsored by the village of Saranac Lake, the Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce and the Adirondack Order of Hibernians.

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