But she’s never seen Saranac Lake’s St. Patrick’s Day parade. The holiday is always a busy day at Romano’s Saranac Lanes and Family Fun Center – a bar, restaurant and bowling alley she owns and operates with her husband, Jeff.

On Saturday, she’ll be leading the parade with family, bubbles and balloons in tow as the grand marshal of this year’s Saranac Lake St. Patrick’s Day festivities.

The parade steps off at 1 p.m. and Romano will lead the revelers from the Saranac Lake Post Office to the Harrietstown Town Hall.

On most years, she’s busy preparing the restaurant for a post-parade crowd hungry for soda bread and Guiness. She only gets to see people assembling for the parade from the doorway of the bowling alley.

Cathy Romano (Enterprise photo - Aaron Marbone)

This year, she’ll be front and center.

“This will force me to get out and enjoy it,” Romano said.

The parade’s grand marshal is selected each year by a vote of its former grand marshals. The event is organized by the Saranac Lake Irish Gaelic Organization.

Romano was “humbled” to be selected.

She worked for 10 years in the health information management department at Adirondack Health. She was up at the hospital visiting her mom when she got the call with the grand marshal news. Romano said it made her mother very proud.

Cathy Romano (Enterprise photo - Aaron Marbone)

Growing up in Brooklyn, her mother – Marion McBride – embraced the family’s Irish roots.

Romano’s paternal grandparents (McBride) came from County Donegal, immigrating to America via Ellis Island in the 1920s. Her maternal grandparents (Butler) were from Armagh, a town and county about 60 miles east of Donegal in Northern Ireland.

“As a kid, traditional Irish music would start playing in the house on March 1 every year, in anticipation of St. Patrick’s Day,” Romano told SLIGO. “You know how some people start the Christmas music in November? We started the Irish music in early March.”

Romano’s favorite Irish song is “The Unicorn Song” by The Irish Rovers. Before they moved to Saranac Lake, her and Jeff would visit family here with their kids. On the long drives from Long Island to the Adirondacks, they kept that song on repeat to keep their daughters, Elizabeth and Katie, entertained and happy.

That song still always puts a smile on her face, she said.

As an adult, she carried on the Irish traditions she grew up with. When she lived on Long Island, there was always a big celebration at their house.

“We would make corned beef and cabbage, basically for the whole neighborhood,” Romano said.

She’s still doing that. Ever since her and Jeff bought the bowling alley and moved to Saranac Lake, they started doing corned beef and cabbage dinners on St. Patrick’s Day, with Irish soda bread, shepherd’s pie and Guinness beef stew.

“To me, it’s a reminder about family and tradition and bringing people together in a fun way,” Romano said.

Her family will be coming to town for the holiday.

Romano has three brothers: Mike, Bill and John. One brother is traveling from Virginia for the parade. John lives in the area.

She is now a grandmother, as Elizabeth has two children, Avery and Gabriel.

Romano met Jeff in Brooklyn. They married and moved to Long Island. One day, on a trip here to see family, Jeff noticed that the village bowling alley was up for sale. He’s always been an avid bowler and was preparing to retire from a city job. When Romano returned to town with their kids for Carnival, he was at work, but had one question: was the bowling alley still for sale?

They bought the business in 2006 and will celebrate 20 years in Saranac Lake in September.

“I just feel that on St. Patrick’s Day, everyone’s Irish, so we’re all in the same boat,” Romano told SLIGO. “And like the saying goes, ‘If you’re lucky enough to be Irish, you’re lucky enough.'”

Blue Moon Café will have a traditional Irish breakfast menu on Saturday, and a number of local establishments have booked live Irish music acts following the parade and post-parade celebration in the Harrietstown Town Hall auditorium.

For a full schedule of events, visit the SLIGO Facebook page or saranaclake.com/events.

Saranac Lake’s St. Patrick’s Day parade and festivities are planned by SLIGO, a group of residents dedicated to community service and the promotion and celebration of Irish and Irish-American history. Membership is open to all, regardless of heritage or religion.

This year’s events are supported by the village of Saranac Lake, the Franklin County government Office of Economic Development and Tourism and the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism.