THE GREENERY STROLL
(our little parade)
You simply have not lived if you haven't seen the GREENERY STROLL at the IRISH SPRING FESTIVAL. Now it isn't as elaborate as, say, the Rose Bowl Parade, Macy's Holiday Parade or, possibly even, your hometown high school homecoming parade. But "elaborate" isn't an applicable quality here. What really counts in the GREENERY STROLL is determined by how well the entries fulfill or surpass these three criteria:
(1) Is it green.
(2) Does the entry reflect that jubiliant attitude of spring which
we all feel.
(3) Is it NOT a car or truck. In other words and relative to
the third criteria, a bicycle, wagon, wheelbarrow, garden
cart, scooter, ATV, lawnmower, tricycle...and well,
virtually anything other than a car or truck is
considered an excellent entry.So, if you would like to enter a float in the GREENERY STROLL,
remember, it is the "thought that counts" and not "elaboration" (if
there is such a word). Of course there are other entries. Dr.
McWhorter is usally one of our prize winners. He dresses in an "Ireland
appropriate" outfit and plays bagpipes for the entire 1 and 1/2 miles
of the parade course. If you would like to enter you may do so as a
member of a group or, if you like, by yourself. The crowd enjoys
individual efforts.
Well, here it is--possibly your chance of a lifetime. You can be a
star, a celebrity in the parade. So let go of your inhibitions, throw
your head back, strut down the street like a spring chicken and wave at
the onlookers. You'll love it, and the crowd will love you. Don't be
nervous. We have a saying, "It's only Ireland." To us, that means it
is just very difficult to mess up around here. To you, it means that
you have a very accepting audience.
However, before you enter we offer these two warnings:
(1) Once you've committed yourself, you can't count on the weather
to get you out of it; because we have another saying here, "regardless
of the weather" and
(2) You may enjoy yourself so much that you'll want to come back
year after year after year after year....But that's OK too, because we
also value age in Ireland.
