Nobody does St. Patrick’s parades like Forest Park

And they’re doing it this Saturday on Madison Street

By TOM HOLMES Contributing Reporter

This Saturday at 1 p.m., 75 groups, lined up on Van Buren Street, will march east on Madison Street to Elgin Avenue, and up to 7,000 residents and visitors will line the sidewalks to enjoy the procession. It’s 13 days early, but the St. Patrick’s Parade every year attracts the largest crowd of any event in the village.

Crowd-pleasers in the parade will be the Proviso East Marching Band, the Doonaree Pipe Band, the Foy Irish School of Dancing, Shriners acting like big kids as they rev their little motorcycles in the Medinah Motor Corp. along with fellow Shriners driving their mini-cars.

The fire and police departments in the area never let the Chamber Executive Director Laurie Kokenes know in advance how many units they’ll be sending, but she said it’s usually around five, and the firefighters and police officers riding in the vehicles have as much fun wailing their sirens as the kids do listening to them. Politicians hoping to curry favor and win your votes will be marching, and gladhanding, including Mayor Rory Hoskins and his challenger, John Doss; plus commissioner incumbents Jessica Voogd, Maria Maxham and Ryan Nero who are run- ning for re-election and challengers Ryan Russ, Michelle Melin-Rogovin, and Joe Landgrebe; Speaker of the House Emanuel Chris Welch; and Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough.

Schools, nonprofits, and many businesses have a presence walking in the parade and waving at their neighbors, making it a truly hometown event.

The Title Sponsors — businesses that support the event with donations — are O’Sullivan’s, Ironworkers Local 1, and Fiore. Joining the Title Sponsors are 26 other businesses and organizations that help fund the event.

Among the reasons the Chamber of Commerce sponsors the parade is that it functions as a fundraiser for the organization. Following is the list of entry fees for the event:

Chamber Business Members $65

Non-Member Business $120

Chamber Member Not-For-Profit $50

Non-Member Not-For-Profit $65

Political $65

Individual Non-business, Residential, Families, etc. $50

The Chamber needs those funds to sustain its mission which is, in the words of Chamber President Neil Rembos, “to drive local business and connect our community. Chamber events are perfect opportunities for us to showcase Forest Park’s smalltown charm and strong sense of community. With the exposure and sizeable foot traffic our events bring to our business districts, we are confident that attendees will see what our town has to offer and return in the future.”

Rembos is the owner of Crystal Carwash, located on Harlem, and therefore does not benefit directly from the exposure that businesses on Madison Street enjoy during the parade.

Nonetheless, he still invests time and energy in the event.

“As a town,” he said, “we have created a brand of vibrant culture, local charm, and diversity. The parade benefits all businesses and the entire community as whole by further supporting our brand while increasing our exposure. We continue to host Chamber events to share our story and focus on the positive aspects of Forest Park that we all know and love.”

Kokenes added that in addition to putting Forest Park on the radar screens of consumers, a lot of money is spent in town that day, especially in the bars. In fact, the Chamber has gotten into the merchandising business by selling its own brand of clothing.

Up till Feb. 20, they were selling online hoodies, crew sweatshirts, T-shirts, baseball tees, beanies, pom hats, ball caps, vests, and jackets.

Last year Forest Park became a parking lot by the time the parade started at 1 p.m. Last year every parking space on the side streets north of Madison to Randolph and south to Jackson was filled.

Tom Skilling has predicted that the weather on Saturday will be partly sunny with a high of 50 degrees.

The website History.com makes it clear

See PARADE on page B11

Families prepare for the parade to approach on Saturday, March 5, 2022, during the Forest Park St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Madison Street in downtown Forest Park.

Parade

Continued from page B7 that Patrick did not found the Guinness Brewery, which is perhaps more associated with the holiday than the Fourth Century saint.

“St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland, is one of Christianity’s most widely known figures. But for all of his prevalence in culture — namely the holiday held on the day of his death that bears his name — his life remains somewhat of a mystery. Although a missionary to the Emerald Isle, Patrick himself was not Irish.

“Many of the stories traditionally associated with St. Patrick, including the famous account of his banishing all the snakes from Ireland, are false, the products of hundreds of years of exaggerated storytelling.”

There will no doubt be more exaggerated storytelling during and after this Saturday’s festivities.