Biting cold reduced the turnout from years past, but the fifth annual Rumson St. Patricks Day Parade was another yet another spirited affair Sunday.
Were you there, or do you know someone who was? Check out our photos below for familiar faces. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
The fifth annual Rumson St. Patrick’s Day Parade caps a weekend of celebrations of Irish heritage Sunday.
It’s the kind of tradition that’s become something of a Celtic-cottage industry in itself: an event heralded by a full slate of fundraisers, competitions (essays, posters, soda bread), corned beef ‘n cabbage dinners, Irish seisuns, and even a “green tree lighting” ceremony that would give pause to Mr. Claus. All very appropriate to a ritual that’s been part of the fabric of local life for all of… four years.
Wait, what? While it’s true that the Rumson St. Patricks Day Parade is still in short pants, the annual occurrence has quickly assumed a pivotal place of prominence in community life. And when it returns for a fifth edition this Sunday, it will have cemented its staying power in the hearts of the Greater Red Bank Green, even as those minty Shamrock Shakes come and go.
Accessorized in splashes of green, visitors and regulars marked another St. Patrick’s Day in downtown Red Bank Thursday. Click the “read more” below for additional photos.
And speaking of greenery, more is expected soon as winter turns to spring at 12:30 a.m. Sunday, according to the Weather Channel. In the interim, though, the weather will be seasonally mixed, according to the short-term forecast. (Click to enlarge)
The bagpipes will blow and the leprechauns will leap when the fourth annual Rumson St. Patrick’s Day Parade commences this Sunday afternoon.
It seems like one of those traditions that’s been a part of community life for generations, but the Rumson St. Patricks Day Parade is but a wee chiseler of just four years of age.
Still, the minty-fresh event has very quickly taken a place of prominence here on the Greater Red Bank Green as a signifier of a year-round local love affair with Celtic culture, even as those Shamrock Shakes may come and go. More →
It’s become as sure a signifier of the St. Patrick’s Day season as leprechauns, shamrocks and wearin’ o’ the green. On Saturday, March 12, and for the eighth consecutive year, the members of the Little Silver Fire Company Station 23-1 will once again host an all-ages fundraiser event that’s become a fast favorite of folks all over the greater Green.
Going on between the hours of 3 and 10 pm in the field adjacent to the firehouse at 480 Prospect Avenue, the fun takes place under a big heated tent, with plenty of Irish food and beer/wine open bar (plus kid-friendly beverages and food faves) to further ward off any lingering seasonal chill.
Event organizer and producer Marvin Hyer Jr. of Man Cave Events — the company that’s brought a charity-fundraising Valentines Day Crawl to the watering spots of Red Bank for the past two years — has announced the introduction of a St. Patrick’s Day themed bar crawl to Red Bank.
Scheduled to take place between the hours of 1 to 10 pm on March 14, the “LepreCrawl” will benefit the Shrewsbury-based housing assistance nonprofit HABcore Inc., as well as Hearts & Hands Disaster Recovery, an organization (founded by a group of Red Bank Catholic grads) established to provide assistance to homeowners who were profoundly affected by Hurricane Sandy or other disasters.
This week in PieHole: The Lighthouse’s Italian ice machines whirr back into action after chilling out for the winter. (Photo by Jim Willis. Click to enlarge)
By JIM WILLIS
redbankgreen’s PieHole is all about local food and drink. If you haven’t liked us on Facebook yet or followed us on Twitter, you may have missed some of these recent stories…
The cast of THE MUSIC MAN brings the Broadway evergreen to ‘Two River City’ for five concert-style performances this weekend. Below, Jersey music Jedi master Glen Burtnik leads an all-Shore team of guests to the Basie stage on Saturday, for a SUMMER OF LOVE salute to the sounds of the original Woodstock festival. (Above photo courtesy NJPAC)
Friday, March 14:
RED BANK: “Seventy Six Trombones.” “Marian the Librarian.” “Til There Was You.” “Ya Got Trouble” (right here in River City). If you’ve seen but one golden-age Broadway classic performed by a class of drama-club kids, a community of earnest amateurs or a summer-stock touring troupe, it was probably The Music Man, the 1957 Tony winner in which traveling con man Professor Harold Hill brings an outlandish scheme — and, in the process, a healthy dose of life, love, laughter and music — to the stodgy folk of a circa-1912 Iowa small town. What you probably haven’t seen is a Music Man brought to you by an African American cast and director — and this weekend, Two River Theater Company offers up five chances to catch a talent-packed production that’s being presented in cahoots with Newark’s NJ Performing Arts Center.
Eddie O’Keefe (left) and Molly Maguire’s chef Alfredo Uraga explain to PieHole why brined beef brisket shrinks when cooking. (Photo by Jim Willis. Click to enlarge)
By JIM WILLIS
With St. Patrick’s Day less than a week away, the Green is about to go extra-Green. And as is the custom elsewhere, the Irish Diaspora here will celebrate the feast day of this Christian saint by eating… a nice koshered Jewish brisket?
Well, sort of.
Quinn MacKinney, 3, leans in for a kiss from Valentina Roselle, a half-Irish, half-Italian two-year-old from Tinton Falls while having lunch in Red Bank. Does Quinn have a little crush on his lunch mate? “Yes,” his mother, Patti MacKinney said, “I think he does.” (Photo by Dustin Racioppi; click to enlarge)
In Fair Haven, six-year-old Will Beausoleil gears up for a big St. Patrick’s Day. “We’re going to meet a friend in the woods. We’re having a little parade by ourselves,” his mother, Kathleen Beausoleil, said. “Then corned beef and cabbage tonight.” (Photo by Dustin Racioppi; click to enlarge)
Clad in green for St. Patrick’s Day, a young girl munches on a green bagel at Atlantic Bagel Company in Rumson this morning. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi; click to enlarge)
