ON CELEBRATION AND GREEN BEER: AN INTIMATELY IMAGINED INTERVIEW WITH THE SPIRIT OF PARADE DAY

He came to me in my sleep, glazed over and stumbling. A struggling drunk, a renegade beauty, outside of time and space, neglecting place and shifting terribly into marvelous camaraderie. “Wake up and make eggs!” he cried, pulling me off the couch and into the kitchen. I opened a can of Guinness, and began cooking. Potatoes and eggs, sausage and bacon, sizzling and dramatically staged. The smells awoke my housemates, stumbling in their voluminous greenery into the kitchen. We lined up plates, filled with memories of days past and far-away friends, and cheersed to the holy companion, the almighty Paddy.

Parade Day is a beloved Binghamton tradition, and for more reasons than blacking out before noon. The parade itself includes Celtic pipe bands that will play in New York and Philadelphia on St. Patrick's Day, local Irish dancing troupes, and free candy for everyone. The drunks may proliferate like mayflies, but the reverence held for the most important unofficial holiday of the Southern Tier is immense; don't be afraid to bring out your children, your mother, or your favorite pup, because the most important rule of Parade Day shenanigans is to do no harm. Ingest what you wish, but for each drink you take, do a good deed for another. Walk down the street singing songs of magnificence for the yellow bellies that line them. Wake up early, and make your friends bangers and hash as you get ready for a day of debauchery. Remember: you may not be Irish, but you're definitely close enough on Parade Day.

Paddy showed up again later, as I slumped against the bar at noon at Fitzies. “The hell are you doin'? The parade has barely started!” the uproarious drunk moaned. “Get your ass back out there. Belligerate the belmonts and the supposers, the manic gran gallowers that line the road. Take back the city from hallowed wretchedness and monotony, monody created by subsistence. Today, we wreathe our hearts in love, in magic, and in green. Spring is blossoming, and it’s beginning to look a lot like Parade Day.” Reading my soul, I reminisced about a previous Parade Day, when I'd wallowed through the streets, strutting and singing, “It's beginning to look a lot like Parade Day/and everyone's a little drunk/ The man on the corner knows/ as the Jameson freely flows/ that we'll all be singing Dixie and following where it goes...”

The parade has been a Binghamton tradition for almost longer than anyone can recall, although between the Great Depression and the sixties there was a slight lull. The tradition is shrouded in history, but in the modern era of the parade, we can reach certainty. It was 1968 when the parade began again: a small event to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a couple dozen locals marching the Irish flag from St. Paul's to City Hall. Over the course of the seventies and eighties, as more and more people began to attend the event, pipe bands from Philadelphia, New York, and beyond started to get involved. In the mid-eighties the Hibernian Parade Committee was organized to create as perfect an event as possible.

The afternoon had gotten strange. After scrounging for the candy with what I had taken to be small drunks (but may have been, in reality, normal-sized children), I looked up at the spectacle taking place before of my eyes. Dancers and musicians in outrageous costumes playing melodious pipes, bombastic drums, and blazing fiddles ranged down the road. As I gazed across the bridge toward the Court Street Circle, I could see masses of people still frolicking my way, and my head swirled. Parents and grandparents stood watch on the sidewalks; some eyed me hostilely, and I decided to stay away from the tiny drunks for the rest of the day. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and Paddy brought me around the corner.

Parade day 2015 promises to be a stellar affair. There will be a total of six pipe bands, including not only the aforementioned bands from Philly and NYC, but also local musicians, and a band from Rochester. The Avalon Band, a group of Mummers from Philadelphia, will take to the streets in festive garb and play music to delight and intrigue. Parade Day brings together the local community in a way that few other events in the area do. Local kids away at college come home to partake in the festivities, as well as former students from the local colleges. Members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians will be coming from as far as California to join in. After the parade completes, a fundraiser for next year's will be held at Seton Catholic High School. Festivities will include performances by the dance troupes and pipe bands that participate in the event, raffles, and more.

The parade was over, but Paddy lingered, bringing me to haunts and hangouts of all persuasions; all the gatherings of souls based in good deed and harmony. “The point of Parade Day,” he roared, between slugging a shot of Jameson and smashing his can of Guinness, “is to celebrate this community that we live in.” He stuttered, swaying like a Binghamton caricature, “The cloth is cut; green burns into your skin. The holiday is to celebrate the foundation of the community. Gather together your lovers, your comrades, your family- bring them out with me. Give yourself over to the Belmar, to Callahan's, to your favorite bar, and turn yourself over to the whims of fancy. Believe in each other, and you'll find yourself.” Then, in a puff of green smoke, steam, or pure liquor, he vanished.

The parade begins at noon on March 7th, starting after the morning mass outside St. Mary's, and continuing up Court and Main Street in the middle of town. The fundraiser for next year's parade will begin around 2pm at Seton Catholic, and continue until around 6pm. Bear in mind, the fundraiser is a family friendly affair. For those of you looking for more raucous celebrations, consider checking out the local Irish bars, or any of the numerous events taking place that night. For more information, check out the Parade Day Facebook event. Remember, on Parade Day, we are all celebrants. Keep the good times rolling, the Jameson flowing, and let's have a Parade Day to remember. Just, maybe not by you.