That was the scene Saturday afternoon in Saranac Lake as the village celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with its fifth annual parade.

The event, organized by the Saranac Lake Irish Gaelic Organization (SLIGO), provided enthusiastic participants and spectators lined up on both side of Main Street and Broadway with an opportunity to smile, cheer and mingle during what has been a sobering past several days on planet Earth.

While coronavirus concerns have resulted in the cancellation of just about everything imaginable, the parade was held as scheduled three days before St. Patrick’s Day, although the post-parade gathering inside the Harrietstown Town Hall was canceled. Still, following the parade, many marchers and spectators filtered into local taverns and restaurants to continue the celebration.

A lot of the discussion among those who turned out on a pleasant mid-March day for event centered on whether or not it was the only parade celebrating St. Patrick’s Day held in New York state this year.

St. Patrick’s Day parade Grand Marshal Pat Finn and her son Kevin Finn soak up the sunshine while marching Saturday in Saranac Lake. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)

“That question came up at the Waterhole,” said SLIGO Vice Chairman Ray Scollin. “A couple of colleagues said that may very well be the case. I do know that it was a day with sunshine and laughter.”

Saranac Lake’s own Lawn Chair Ladies and the Canoodlers marched in the parade, and were both outfitted in costumes featuring glittery green and silver. A dozen young girls from Plattsburgh’s Champlain Valley Irish Dancers joined in the fun, and local Irish families with names like Finn, Muldowney, Sweeney and Morgan strolled the short parade route behind behind their green, white and orange banners.

Saranac Lake trustee Richard Shapiro and Mayor Clyde Rabideau even locked arms and spun in a circle as they attempted an Irish dance.

Scollin said Saranac Lake’s St. Patrick’s Day parade originally sprung up seven years ago when the owners of the Blue Moon Cafe, Ken and Tricia Fontana, started hosting an annual Irish breakfast. And two years later, Saranac Lake’s first St. Patrick’s Day was held.

“People really enjoyed themselves,” Scollin said. “I got loads of emails the next day — the Lawn Chair Ladies, the Canoodlers — they all said how much fun they had and couldn’t wait to do it again next year.”

Members of the Canoodlers, disguised at leprechauns, wave decorated canoe paddles in Saranac Lake’s St. Patrick’s Day parade Saturday. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)

Members of the Muldowney clan march in Saturday’s parade in Saranac Lake. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)