The World’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Hot Springs has been named one of the Top 20 Events in theSoutheast by the Southeast Tourism Society located in Atlanta.
the 2011 edition of the parade, the First Ever Eighth Annual World’s Shortest
St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which will be held on Bridge Street in the downtown
area of the city on March 17. The parade route is 98 feet long.
Dozens of floats, bands,
marching units, performance troupes and other entries march, strut, ride, roll,
walk, dance and swing through the short parade route, surrounded by thousands
of holiday celebrants.
The 2011 celebrity grand
marshal will be actor John Corbett, who stars in United States of Tara and has
starred in Sex and the City and Northern Exposure, among many notable roles.
Other celebrity grand
marshals have included actress Bo Derek, Mario Lopez, Dirty Jobs
host Mike Rowe, TV stars George (Norm) Wendt and John
(Cliffie) Ratzenberger and comedian Pauley Shore.
The parade has been
recognized worldwide with numerous international awards.
Among them:
In 2005 it was No. 1 in Off
the Beaten Path Parades awarded by The Irish Echo
In 2008 it was named among
the Top Ten St. Patrick’s Day Parades in the U.S. by AOL
In 2009 it was named the Quirkiest St. Patrick’s Day Parade
on Earth by Smithsonian Magazine
In 2009 it was named No. 2 in its list of Celebrating
St. Patrick’s Day in the Southeast by the Atlanta Journal Constitution
For three consecutive years it has been selected as one of
the Top 20 Events in the Southeast by the Southeast Tourism Society
In 2010 the parade received the Henry Award for Community Tourism Development from the
Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism
In 2010 the parade was elected to the list of Top 100
Events and Festivals in North America by the American Bus Association group
tour association.
For more information call
Steve Arrison at 501-321-2027.
