Delano celebrates St. Patrick’s Day with 10th annual parade (+video)

While cloudy skies threatened rain during Saturday’s St. Patrick’s Parade, the luck of the Irish seemed to keep thousands of green-clad attendees dry in the Delano neighborhood.

Following are five takeaways from the 10th annual parade.

Packing the route

Nancy Lawrence, parade organizer and president of Historic Delano Inc., said the parade’s 2016 version attracted between 10,000 and 12,000 people, numbers that she said represented one of the biggest parades in the event’s history.

“I don’t think it was the biggest, but it was one of the biggest,” Lawrence said Saturday afternoon. “We had about a hundred entries, which was more than we’ve ever had, and I’ve already had people asking about how they register for next year’s parade.”

Starting at noon at Douglas and McLean, the convoy traveled west through the Delano business district to Walnut. A number of onlookers commented that the parade was one of the longest they could remember, lasting about 90 minutes.

In all, Lawrence said, about 2,500 participants walked or rode the route, adding that 14 volunteers worked the event on parade day.

Feeling the Bern

One political-themed float belonged to a group of Bernie Sanders supporters, who toted a 10-foot-tall likeness of the Democratic presidential candidate.

Sanders backer Mary Ann Harmon of Garden Plain said work on the float – made mostly of PVC pipe, papier-mache, cardboard and chicken wire – began in late February. Sanders won the Kansas Democratic caucus earlier this month.

“We started on it about 10 days before the caucus,” Harmon said. “I think it turned out pretty well. It’s just awesome to be coming off a victory here in Kansas.”

Pots of gold for businesses

With thousands flocking to Delano, the businesses along Douglas get quite a boost every year, Lawrence said.

Most businesses were open during the parade, with many customers eating in restaurants and bars while watching the action.

“People come early and stay after the parade,” Lawrence said. “Some tell me it’s the best and busiest time of their year.”

The door of the Idle Hands Tattoo shop on Douglas was open during the parade, though owner Brooke Keenan said she hadn’t gotten any walk-in shamrock tattoo requests as of about 1 p.m.

“We do get a number of those during the course of the year, though,” Keenan said. “We have an appointment on St. Patrick’s Day for a four-leaf clover.”

Drinking buddies

A regular at the parade for the past few years, Eric Zimmerman of Wichita and his girlfriend, Crystal, wore two of the most elaborate costumes on Saturday.

Zimmerman said he likes to add new items to his outfit every year. This year, he accented his attire with green gloves and a little bearded leprechaun – which he called his drinking buddy – on his left shoulder.

“This is like our second Halloween,” he said. “We like to have fun with it. This is kind of the introduction to spring and summer. We love the parade.”

Puppy love

While green was the color of the day, 3-year-old Alizea Johnson of Wichita said her favorite part of the parade didn’t have anything to do with leprechauns or pots of gold.

“I liked the puppies,” said Alizea, a regular parade-goer. There were dogs participating in the parade as well as among the spectators.

Like countless other attendees, Alizea wore a green beaded necklace to mark the occasion. She was just one of hundreds of kids who lined Douglas, scurrying about for candy and glimpses of the various floats.

This story was originally published March 12, 2016 at 5:49 PM with the headline "Delano celebrates St. Patrick’s Day with 10th annual parade (+video)."