Posted on 3/13/2017

OBX St. Pat's Day Parade-A Great Time on a Cold Day

Paying tribute to Councilman Warren Judge. The Dare County Democratic Party float. Paying tribute to Councilman Warren Judge. The Dare County Democratic Party float.
A Cold Day for a Parade

It was cold today in Nags Head for the 28th Annual Kelly's St. Patrick's Day Parade, but it was still a great time and the entertainment value was outstanding.

The smaller than usual crowd had a great time. They stamped their feet, jumped up and down and counted their blessings because a few days ago the forecast was calling for 3" of snow.

The Kelly's Parade is not quite like any other.

It has all of the elements of a classic parade...some marching band and lots of floats. But then there's the the marching dogs, antique cars, fire engines and what appears to be every business on the Outer Banks driving by with a magnetic sign on their car door.

There is also the unicyclist who plays the trumpet and jumps rope on his unicycle...that's not something seen everyday.

If the parade was not as well attended as usual, the kids that were there, didn't seem to be complaining. Participants traditionally throw out candy and the volume of candy remains the same whether the crowd is at 10,000 or 2,000.

A Good Day for a Parade

Mike Kelly has never had to postpone or cancel one of his parades, although with what the weather looked like as late as Wednesday, there had to be some thought of moving it to next weekend. But if it was cold and windy, it was still a good day for a parade. And, the sun even came out as the parade was finishing up.

Even though it was cold, there were at least free hotdogs and entertainment waiting under the tent across the Bypass at Kelly's Outer Banks Tavern.

Was it the best Kelly's St. Pat's Day Parade ever? Hard to say. Probably not. But at the parades are always a good time and it certainly seemed to be the coldest, and that makes it memorable.

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