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City revels in spectacle, Irish enthusiasm

Liam Brown, 11 months, of Pittston, gets some help from his mom, Dana Brown.

PETE G. WILCOX/THE TIMES LEADER

The Avalon String Band from Philadelphia marches in the 32nd Annual Wilkes-Barre St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Sunday. The band was one of many musical acts that made its way down Main Street. For more photos, see 7A.

PETE G. WILCOX/THE TIMES LEADER

WILKES-BARRE — “I want hair like this every day,” 8-year-old Jules Schepisi of Wilkes-Barre said as she tossed her green tinsel wig about.

“Me too, me too,” her friend Amy Bonaldi, also 8 and of Wilkes-Barre, agreed, shaking a sparkling green mane of her own.

The girls have come to the Wilkes-Barre St. Patrick’s Day Parade since they were small with their mothers, Celine and Sarah.

“They definitely enjoy watching it,” Celine said, “but I think they really just like to hang out together and get things like the wigs. Last year all they wanted were hats.”

The girls and their mothers were among thousands of people who lined South Main Street for the 32nd Annual parade Sunday. The wave of green stretched from South Main, down and around the F.M. Kirby Center side of the square, and cut off about where the Ramada sits.

The party kicked off at 1 p.m., an hour before the parade began, with a performance from The Hooley Boys on the reviewing stand on Public Square. For some, the day began even earlier than that.

“We’ve been here since 11,” Adonica Phillips of Kingston said from her seat in front of Boscov’s Department Store. “We just like to make sure we have a good spot and can see everything.”

Marcus Hoerl, 27, of Wilkes-Barre, also arrived early, though it wasn’t a seat he was seeking.

“I had quite the day yesterday in Scranton and I was looking for some food today,” he said as he held up a gyro. “This is doing the trick. And maybe a beer, too.”

The bars along the route were in full swing, from Rodano’s and Hardware Bar to the Irish-themed Mulligan’s.

Even the animals were in on the celebration.

“She loves the hat, I promise,” Shelley Walla of Swoyersville said of her beagle, Taffy, who was donning not only a tiny leprechaun cap, but also a collar ringed in shamrock beads.

Seven different divisions marched in the parade, consisting of Scout troops, elected officials, schools, businesses and organizations. Some parade day favorites were on hand, such as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins mascot Tux, the Wyoming Valley Pipe and Drum band, the David Blight School of Dance and several area high school marching bands such as GAR and Meyers.

Activity was not limited to the crowds right along the parade route. Barnes & Noble hosted a “St. Patrick’s Day Story Time” early in the morning, and Just Plain Crazy Face Art set up a stand on the square to provide the spirit of green through face painting for paradegoers.

For additional photos, see Page 7A or visit www.times

leader.com.