Getting into the holiday spirit early, the city council got a taste of the upcoming festivities last week, when the Holyoke St. Patrick's Day Parade committee entered in style, with a pipe band in tow.
For the past few weeks, the group has been putting the finishing touches on planning for the annual parade, which dates back to 1952.
According to committee president Hayley Dunn, the planning starts as early as the previous April — all for a weekend that brings some 400,000 people to the region while celebrating the area's Irish roots.
"Knock on wood - so far, we've had a terrific year,” Dunn told WAMC. “I'm really proud to be president of the parade this year. You know, we've got 28 bands that are going to be joining us this year, over a dozen floats, which is an increase from last year."
Even before the marchers and bands hit the road, thousands of runners will run the parade route on Saturday. Paired with the parade is the St. Patrick's Road Race, which Dunn says will bring in at least 7,000 participants.
According to the parade committee, when combined with the road race, the events inject some $20 million into the local economy, per a study conducted by the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute.
"There's direct and indirect local economic impact - an infusion of dollars,” Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia said. “It's a great deal of tourism that takes place in our city. People from everywhere come to Holyoke - they're visiting, eating at our local restaurants, visiting area attractions, and filling up their vehicles."
Garcia told WAMC the impact is nothing to scoff at, considering Holyoke balloons to ten times its size during the parade weekend.
It's a massive undertaking — one that the mayor considers a point of pride.
"Traditionally, larger cities, much bigger than us, do these kinds of big events,” he said. “And here's little Holyoke, punching above its weight and we're very prideful of that. You know, Holyokers here - we identify strongly with our city and our community."
During the parade itself, Dunn says many fan favorites will be returning for this year's parade, including mummers, Shriners, and of course, plenty of pipes and drums.
“We have a new drumline that's coming in from Hartford,” she said. “Of course, our pipe bands are always a fan favorite of ours - the Holyoke Caledonians, you have the Manchester Pipe Band that's coming up from Connecticut.”
If you're driving through the area, getting into the downtown area will be tricky Sunday. Officials will close down exit 14 on I-91 as well as much of the main artery going into the city.
More information on those closures, as well as the parade itself, can be found here.
The parade kicks off at 11 a.m.
