World’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade Primer

Once again, the First Ever 9th annual World’s Shortest Saint
Patrick’s Day Parade has been set for March 17 in Hot Springs.

The event has been harnessing a lot of press since it was
created nine years ago. Last year, the parade was featured on CNN as one of
three showcased “Quirky St. Patrick’s Day’ destinations.

The parade, which has grown to attract more than 30,000
revelers, takes place on the legendary 98-foot-long Bridge Street downtown.

Along with the above shout outs, the parade has been
recognized worldwide with numerous international awards since it started.

Among them:

2005  No. 1 in
Off the Beaten Path Parades awarded by The Irish Echo

2008 Top Ten St.
Patrick’s Day Parades in the U.S. by AOL

2009 Quirkiest St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Earth by
Smithsonian Magazine

Last year, I got a chance to take my cousin Anna (who was
visiting from Greece), to the parade. It was her first taste of the
tradition. In a random twist, the grand marshal happened to be John
Corbett. Yep, he’s from “Northern Exposure” and “Sex in the
City”, and can currently be seen in“United States of Tara”. But my cousin was focused on another point.
“That’s the guy from “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”!” she kept repeating. Yep, she
was fascinated by this Greek angle she managed to find in a midst of Irish
green… in Arkansas.

What she and I ( and a co-worker