Delano goes green for 11th annual St. Patrick’s Parade

It’s a decade after the fact, so now Nancy Lawrence can confess:

She half-heartedly volunteered to organize the St. Patrick’s Parade in Delano in 2007 – when the holiday fell on a Saturday – and was secretly wishing it wouldn’t take off.

“I was personally kind of hoping there wouldn’t be enough entries so we wouldn’t have to do it,” she says now with a laugh.

But the parade, which steps off for its 11th year at noon on Saturday, has grown from the 50 entries that first year to a spectacle that has about 100 entries with 2,000 participants and 8,000 to 10,000 spectators as it takes the route along Douglas, from McLean to Walnut.

“It’s crazy-busy,” Lawrence said.

The parade has its mainstays, including a 100-piece kazoo band, the Shriners, miniature horses and the West High Junior ROTC, which has always served as the color guard.

There are also Renaissance Fair re-enactors, as well as performers on horseback from Cowtown. This year will feature more bands than ever, Lawrence said.

The parade only has a couple of rules, Lawrence said. No one is allowed to sit on the Delano clock tower – “It’s gotten so congested. I just ask people to please sit back away from that,” she said – and those in the parade are not allowed to throw candy, beads or trinkets, although they may be passed out alongside the curbs, she added.

The setup area is in the parking lots of Lawrence-Dumont Stadium and Metropolitan Baptist Church, so parking is not allowed there, although Lawrence said there are other spots nearby.

“There’s plenty of places along the side streets and in little parking lots, and on the east side of the bridge,” she said.

Lawrence is proud that the Delano parade has grown to be second only to Riverfest as the largest parade in Wichita. She sees it as the signal of a new season in Wichita.

“It’s kind of like, ‘Hey, it’s spring,’ ” Lawrence said. “It’s fun and it’s quirky and it’s just a blast.”

Lawrence said some may consider the parade somewhat routine going into its 11th year, but she said she’s proud to stick with what works for a new Wichita tradition.

“It’s just so much fun, and I don’t have to reinvent the wheel every year,” she said. “Everybody has a good time.”

This story was originally published March 9, 2017 at 10:40 AM with the headline "Delano goes green for 11th annual St. Patrick’s Parade."