Leprechauns danced. A pot of gold pranced. Gaelic warriors charged. Even zombies lurched and Jedis strode through downtown New Haven Sunday afternoon.
It was all part of the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which filled the city with the pounding of drums and the sound of pipes and fifes. Thousands descended on downtown for the parade, dressed in green and adorned in beads and funny hats.
“It’s a huge success, said Kevin Smith, chairman of the parade committee. He put the crowd in the hundreds of thousands. The parade itself comprised 3,700 marchers in 160 units and six divisions, he said. That included 16 fife and drum troupes, over a dozen bagpipe and drum groups, and seven high school bands, Smith said.
The weather cooperated this year, unlike last year, when a persistent cold rain dampened the festivities. “I ruined my hat last year,” Smith said, pointing to his new shiny black top hat.
In addition to the dry weather, this year’s parade featured several new features: Connecticut Roller Girls rolled by, and a phalanx of Star Wars Stormtroopers trooped through, led by Darth Vader himself. A pack of zombies stumbled in, stopping to perform the Thriller dance in front of the viewing platform, before abducting a girl from the audience and packing her away in a coffin.
Following an announcement that they would be cracking down on public drinking, police reported no major incidents at the parade.
Mayor John DeStefano marched near the front of the parade, with the fire and police chiefs. He stopped to greet 94-year-old John Brant — a former member of the governor’s foot guard — in front of his home at the Grimes Health Center on Chapel Street.
Pedi-cab entrepreneur Paul Hammer pedaled parade dignitaries on Chapel Street.
A few blocks away, 67-year-old Carol Peterson was viewing the parade in his flashy green bespoke suit. The Dixwell native said he’s been going to the parade all his life and wearing his green suit for the last several years for the occasion.
Gov. Dannel Malloy (center) marched in the parade, with State Comptroller Kevin Lembo and Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, who walked the entire route in high heels.
Sen. Dick Blumenthal (right) and U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (left) also walked the parade route.
St. Patrick (Milford’s Peter Ortoleva) offered his blessings to the crowd.
Shriners zipped around in figure-eights, inside tiny red cars and astride tiny motorbikes.
A young group of Irish stepdancers neared the finish line.
Sith Lord Darth Vader waved cheerily to crowd. He was flanked by two members of the Emperor’s Royal Guard. Behind them marched, incongruously, rebels Chewbacca, Princess Leia, and assorted X‑Wing fighter pilots. Also in the group were several Tusken Raiders, a couple of tiny Jawas with glowing eyes, and a contingent of Stormtroopers, one of whom wore a kilt. They were all part of the 501st Legion.
A group of zombies and insane clowns called “The Haunted Isle” brought a bit of Halloween to St. Patrick’s day. The East Haven group performed a Michael Jackson dance routine. At the end of the performance, they dragged a girl kicking and screaming from the audience and threw her into a coffin in the back of their pick-up truck. She was, presumably, a plant, since no one protested the abduction.
Connecticut’s own women’s flat-track roller derby athletes skated past.
Bereen (left) and Pippin (right) two enormous Irish wolfhounds, celebrated their Gaelic roots with Bob (center) from Clinton.
Several Gaelic Warriors brandished weapons fiercely as they strode down Church Street.
The parade route was lined with signs promising that public drinking laws would be strictly enforced.
Nevertheless, some public drunkenness was apparent. The crowd was the rowdiest near the corner of Chapel and Temple Streets, where Officer Leonardo Soto kept people in line. Vuvuzelas, the droning plastic horns made popular at last year’s World Cup, were blaring up and down the parade route.
After three hours of drumming and marching, the parade wound down, and the party shifted to Crown Street. With the street blocked off by cops, drunken revelers ambled around in T‑shirts with slogans like “Irish today, hungover tomorrow,” or “Let’s get ready to stumble!”
In the Temple Street plaza, the new Pulse nightclub was doing a brisk business. Inside barricades in front of the club, the ground was covered with spilled drinks and crumpled plastic cups. Nearby outside the Temple Street Grill, empties were accumulating in the bushes.
“This is where the problems begin,” said Sgt. Chris Rubino, who was stationed near the intersection of Temple and Crown Streets. He said cops would shut the bars down at 6 p.m., then allow them to re-open at 8 p.m.
The parade went smoothly, with no major problems beyond a couple of fights, Rubino said.
“So far it’s been pretty orderly,” said Capt. Leo Bombalicki, who was mounted on a motorcycle.
Later, East Haven’s Frank Cannici made the most of the debris left behind on the Green by retreating revelers. He had already loaded several large garbage bags full of redeemable empties. He said he anticipated making $100.