Today’s weather cooperated for the continuation of a Sedona Tradition: the annual explosion of leprechauns, shamrocks and four leaf clovers at the 43rd Annual Sedona St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival.
The Sedona Chamber of Commerce expects thousands of residents and visitors will be turning out, celebrating all things Irish, cheering on floats and marching bands, and shopping as the parade returns to its historical route along Jordan Road in Uptown.
“Many locals make a day of it, walking through the Uptown shops and enjoying lunch at one of the many Uptown restaurants,” said Sedona Chamber of Commerce CEO and President Jennifer Wesselhoff.
Visitors hoping to stake their claim to prime real estate along the picturesque parade route are encouraged to arrive early. The parade is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. at Jordan Historical Park, and proceed south along Jordan Road to Mesquite Avenue. Following the parade, the St. Patrick’s Day Festival will feature live entertainment, children’s activities, food vendors and a beer garden.
“Businesses along the parade route, and those that provide their entire site for the festival immediately following the parade, receive a tremendous amount of exposure to area residents and visitors attending the event,” said Holly Epright, executive director of the Sedona Main Street Program. “If those businesses sponsor the event, we promote them actively, as we do all the event sponsors; if they also participate in the parade as an entry, this provides a fun, inexpensive and invaluable promotional opportunity for personal contact with thousands of area residents and visitors from all over the globe.”
Previous parades were staged on the main thoroughfare of Highway 89A. And in 1998, the St. Patrick’s Day parade came to a complete halt because of a lack of funding, but this year the celebration promises to put the Irish jig back into the community’s step.
“I often hear some of the Sedona ‘old-timers’ talk about when the parade route travelled down 89A in West Sedona – the whole street would close and people would camp out in RVs to get the best parade location,” said Wesselhoff. “The tradition continues this March in Uptown along gorgeous Jordan Road, where the entire community can come out for the fun. The Sedona Main Street Program should be commended for all its hard work in keeping this tradition alive in Sedona.”
Organized by the Sedona Main Street Program and sponsored by the Northern Arizona University Parks and Recreation Management Program along with the Sedona Green Team, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade represents a symbol of the city’s collaborative community of local business partners. Local law firm Aspey, Watkins & Diesel is the parade’s title sponsor. Major sponsors for the festival include Red Rock Western Jeep Tours and A Day In the West tour company. Uptown Sedona’s Fudge Company joins BSE Rents as additional sponsors.
“This Sedona tradition continues because of business sponsors and donors working in partnership, along with volunteers,” said Epright. “The City of Sedona and numerous business donors provide complementary or discounted services to keep costs down, and volunteers give enthusiasm, time and talent. The parade really is a celebration of Sedona’s cultural heritage. After all, Sedona’s first permanent Anglo settler, J.J. ‘Jim’ Thompson, was born in Ireland and claimed a homestead here in 1876.” FBN