The sixth annual St. Patrick’s Parade and fourth annual Shamrock Fest, organized by The Park Theatre, will take place March 12 to 16.
The St. Patrick’s Parade will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 16, beginning at St. Patrick’s Parish, 89 Main St., and proceeding along Main Street (Route 124) past The Park Theatre. The weather date is March 23. The grand marshal is Jimmy Quinn, a native of Donegal, Ireland, and co-founder of the parade.
The parade will feature the New Hampshire Pipes and Drums, Hill’s Bandwagon of Vermont, The Flying Irish Dancers, 1st NH Regiment Revolutions, 6th NH Regiment, Keene American Legion, Conant High School Marching Band and others. Residents can participate by joining the Monadnock Pot & Pans Band or the Granite State Kazoo Choir. Kazoos will be provided. To sign up, call 603-532-8888.
The parade will be broadcast live on Facebook at facebook.com/theparktheatre, beginning at 12:30 p.m. Diane Griffin, a volunteer at The Park Theatre and native of Sandycove, County Dublin, will provide commentary.
Shamrock Fest begins Wednesday, March 12, with a screening of “Ryan’s Daughter” at The Park Theatre, 19 Main St. The 1970 film starring Robert Mitchum and directed by David Lean was filmed entirely in Ireland. “The Great Ireland Road Trip,” a recent travelogue documentary featuring a young couple as guides, will be shown with free admission March 12 and 13. “The Boxer” (1997), starring Daniel Day-Lewis and directed by Jim Sheridan, will be shown March 13.
Live entertainment begins Friday, March 14, at 7:30 p.m. with the Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki Trio. On Saturday, March 15, The Fiddling Thomsons, a father-and-son duo, will perform, followed by a concert by Celtic rock band Waking Finnegan at 7:30 p.m.
On Sunday, March 16, Jaffrey band The Grateful Dads will perform in The Park Theatre’s Lounge beginning at noon, then march in the parade before returning to play from 2:45 to 5 p.m.
Food will be available for sale starting at noon, including hamburgers, hot dogs, homemade chili, baked goods, hot chocolate, coffee, tea and Guinness. The Lounge will offer Irish whiskey sampling with solo and trio flights. Alcohol purchases require photo identification.
The Shamrock Fest’s presenting sponsor is Bar Harbor Bank & Trust. McClure’s Tree Service is a secondary sponsor. WKNE radio is the official media sponsor. The parade has more than two dozen sponsors from Jaffrey and the Monadnock Region. A list of sponsors is available at shamrockfest.org. A program guide for Shamrock Fest will be available the week of March 3 at sponsor businesses and locations throughout the Monadnock Region.
For tickets and information, visit theparktheatre.org or shamrockfest.org, or call 603-532-8888.
The Park Theatre is adding volunteers for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Sunday, March 16, along with other events at Shamrock Fest March 12 to 16.
Volunteer roles include serving as parade monitors, greeters, concession assistants and ushers, distributing program guides and helping with raffles and commemorative items. To register, go to theparktheatre.org/volunteer or call the box office at 603-532-8888.