By: Jeff Meade

A scene from the 2007 parade.

Can’t wait for March 17?

You don’t have to. The first local St. Patrick’s Day parade of the year is about to step off in Mount Holly, Burlington County, on Saturday. And this one is bigger and better than ever.

The parade is now in its fourth year. For a relative newcomer, these folks really know how to bang together a parade—and not just a parade, but a whole day of music, fun and Celtic camaraderie.

“We have almost doubled the size of the parade this year,” says Jim Logue, who heads up the Burlington County Saint Patrick's Day Parade Committee. “The grand marshal is Jack McKee, who is the lead singer of The Shantys. Miss Saint Patrick is Jessica Fitzpatrick. The theme of the parade is “St. Patrick the Bard, Bless Our Irish Music.”

The day begins with a Mass at Sacred Heart Church on High Street in Mount Holly, starting at 10:30 a.m. The celebrant is parade chaplain Father McElroy of Belfast. “We get together before the parade and have a Mass since the main point of the day is to honor our patron saint and to remember all those that we have lost through the years, be it in the Great Hunger on in the fight for independence. We want to remember all the struggles that our forefathers went through due to their religion.”

The parade kicks off at 1 p.m. The parade route runs the length of High Street, starting near the Fairgrounds Plaza and continuing to the bottom of the hill, turning onto Washington Street, and ending at the Town Hall.

But the fun doesn’t end with the parade. There’s a huge post-parade party at Buzz's Tavern, Rancocas Road and King Street, just a few blocks off the parade route. And the music is non-stop. “At the parade party, we will be having the Birmingham Six, the Bogside Rogues, Bare-Knuckled Boxers, Broken Shillelaghs, Celtic Connection, All Grain, The Mulligans, The Gentlemen—a nine-piece Irish band from West Virginia—along with some special guests. The music starts after the parade (about 2 p.m.) and goes till about 2 a.m.”

So there you have it—the quickest and best way to kick off what promises to be a great month.

More details at http://www.mounthollyparade.com/

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