St. Patrick’s Parade back to March 17 in downtown Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS — On March 17, 1976, “The First and Last, One of a Kind, Ecumenical, St. Patrick’s Day Parade” snaked from the Federal Building on First Street SE to Greene Square Park in just four minutes.

Entries included a two-headed calf from Belle Plaine, a goat wearing a jacket emblazoned with “Hogan,” and a flatbed truck from Ted’s Happitime tavern.

But the first wasn’t the last. A new tradition was born that year, rain or shine, and kept chugging along until March 2020, when the pandemic shut down life as we know it.

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The hardy group that evolved into SaPaDaPaSo (Saint Patrick’s Day Parade Society) in 1978 wasn’t ready toss in the towel after 2020. The volunteers figured out a way to keep the parade entries standing still while vehicles drove around them at Hawkeye Downs in southwest Cedar Rapids, on the Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day, March 13, 2021.

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They kept the Saturday-before date going in 2022 and 2023, but spectator numbers kept dwindling. So this year, the parade of Irish pride and shenanigans is returning to the March 17 day of the holiday — Sunday — following the typical downtown Cedar Rapids route. It begins at 1 p.m. on Sixth Street and Third Avenue SE, turns down Second Avenue SE, across Second Street SE and back up Third Avenue SE, and ends on Fifth Street SE by Greene Square and the downtown Cedar Rapids Public Library.

The Gazette caught up with three-time SaPaDaPaSo president Chris Faille, 59, of Cedar Rapids, whose late father, Jim Glynn, was one of the parade’s early organizers. The Glynn kin have been in every Cedar Rapids St. Paddy’s parade.

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Faille leads a core group of 12 to 15 active volunteers, who begin planning the parade in September. They hold meetings monthly until Feb. 17, when they switch to weekly meetings every Saturday until the parade, when a small army kicks in.

Q: How many more volunteers step up on parade day?

A: We have marshals that will help us out in the staging area. We have some folks that have been doing it for years and years and years. We have probably 12 marshals that run the actual staging, and the front of the parade and the end of the parade. Then we have 50 to 60 marshals that will be along the parade route. (They’ll be wearing white lab coats with a green shamrock on the back, so they’ll be easy to spot if anyone needs help.)

We've kind of changed our philosophy just a little bit here in the last few years. Part of the reason that we changed the date from St. Patrick's Day to the Saturday before was in hopes that we would be able to get some more people to volunteer if it was on a Saturday morning, (not) having to take days off of work. That didn't quite work.

Since the beginning of the parade, most of our funds have come from just the fundraisers that we have. So this year and a little bit last year, we have started to partner with some local businesses as sponsorships. So that is helping us to continue to pay the cost, because things keep going up and we're having fewer volunteers. We're actually partnering with a couple of local nonprofits, as well, for them providing parade marshals. So they help us and we help them.

Q: When does the call for entries go out?

A: Towards the end of January. We do it all online now.

Q: How many entries are you expecting this year?

A: We are at 90 entries, so it won’t be a super-quick parade.

Q: What kind of units can we expect to see?

A: We have everything from family floats, local nonprofits (and walking groups), to businesses advertising with their vehicles, so it should be a nice variety. …

One of our members has procured the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, so the Wienermobile will be in the parade. And we have a gentleman bringing his Popemobile, he calls it, so we have some interesting entries.

Q: Who's portraying St. Patrick?

A: That would be my son, Kyle Faille. … This is actually his third year. He took over for Steve Bryant, who took over for my dad, when they both couldn't do it anymore.

Q: And who is the Colleen? (A lass of Irish heritage, she serves as a host at the Irish Hooley party fundraiser, rides in a convertible in the parade, and helps hand out awards at the after-party at Big Grove Brewery.)

A: Actually, it's just a family affair. The Colleen is Darby Glynn (age 19). She is my brother Michael's daughter. Her parents are Michael and Molly Glynn of Shellsburg.

Q: How is the Colleen chosen?

A: We have an application that we make available to all of our members to share with anyone that they think might be interested, who meets the qualifications. Then we have a panel at Channel 9 who makes that decision for us.

Q: Something I learned by being a parade judge last year was the behind-the-scenes tradition of bribing the judges, which I loved. What is involved in that? I don't think most people know that even happens.

A: In my family, we try to come up with a bribe that kind of goes along with whatever our float theme is. Just something that we know that will make the judges feel good. If it's cold, it might be hot coffee, or a basket of goodies or things like that. … (The winner) gets an award.

Q: Are the city or the police involved in any way with the parade?

A: We, obviously, have to fill out a special-event application that has to go to the (City) Council for approval, and then we work with Park Cedar Rapids and the police department, because the police provide the security like closing off the streets for us when it's time, and they help with crowd control, as well. … They're always very cooperative. We have a good working relationship.

Q: What advice do you have for the spectators, like when do the streets close?

A: “No parking” will be enforced along the parade route, with ticketing and towing starting at 10 in the morning in the staging area, and then around the rest of the route. The streets generally get closed off around noon when the crowds really start to fill in. My advice would be to come early to find a place to park that's not along the route, so you don't have to walk too far. (And bring a bag to take home candy, beads and trinkets handed out along the parade route.)

Q: Do you have a dollar figure for what it costs to stage this event?

A: Our operating costs for putting on the parade run around $25,000.

Q: How did the Hooley fundraiser do this year, since it went up against the Hawkeye women's basketball game (on March 3)?

A: You know, we didn't do too bad. I think after the game was over, our attendance really had quite a nice boost. So it's very comparable, as far as fundraising goes, to what we did last year.

Q: How much does the Hooley typically bring in?

A: It looks like the Hooley raised (about) $6,500 last year. We sold enough (raffle) tickets after we covered the cost of the trip ($4,000) to make an $8,000 profit.

Q: About how many people typically attend the Hooley?

A: It's usually around 500.

Q: Any idea how many people typically come down for the parade?

A: Boy, I that's a pick ’em. I that I know that (with summery temperatures in 2012), someone estimated they thought there were 50,000 people there, but we don't have any accurate way of knowing. I just know that we love to see the streets full of green.

Comments: (319) 368-8508; diana.nollen@thegazette.com