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13th Annual Park Road Parade this Saturday

Andy Hart

September 29, 2011

Bring the whole family to the 13th annual Park Road Parade on Saturday, October 1. The one-hour parade steps off at 10:30 AM, at Ringgold Street and ends at South Quaker Lane.

Nearly 100 contingents are expected to march in this year’s parade. The parade features 13 bands, clowns, dancers, floats, antique cars, dogs of all shapes and sizes, sports mascots, and color guards, businesses, civic and cultural organizations and town and state officials. Each year the parade draws over 7,000 people to Park Road neighborhood. Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman is the Grand Marshal.

“The Park Road Parade is a true representation of all that is good in West Hartford,” said Richard Patrissi, also known as the Mayor of Park Road.

A parade would not be complete without music. The 2011 Park Road Parade will feature the University of Hartford’s Steel Band, Conard High 9th Grade and Sedgwick Middle School 8th Grade combined band, Colchester Continental Fife & Drum, Colonel John Chester Fire & Drum Corps, Connecticut Patriots Ancient Fife & Drum, Heartbeat Dixieland Jazz Band, Manchester Regional Police & Fire Pipe Band, Rob the Drummer, Sphinx Shriner Band, Washington Park Junior Drum Corps, the Lone Drummer, The Boys of Wexford and the ABC Drill Team & Drum Corp.

Awards are given each year to the most unique float, best neighborhood group and best car. Tracey Flater and Darlene Zoller of the Playhouse on Park will be judging. West Hartford Community TV will be filming the parade which will be shown on Comcast Channel 5.

A parade of this magnitude involves a lot of volunteers and sponsors. The 2011 sponsors are Prospect Café, Steben Auto Body & Glass, Barlow Tax Solutions, Effie's Place Family Restaurant, A. C. Petersen Farms Restaurant, Shop Rite, Thomas Fahy Insurance Associates, The Farmington Bank, E. J. Haverty Inc., Molloy's Funeral Home, Joey Garlic's Pizza Pie, West Hartford Police Union Local 1283 and Fresh Ink Promotional Graphics, LLC. A big “thank you” goes out to all of them.

Immediately following the parade, the Boys of Wexford, an Irish band, will be performing at the Prospect Café, 345 Prospect Avenue, West Hartford. Special thanks to Mike Hickey and Blue Back Dental for sponsoring this band. Stop by for lunch and enjoy the free concert. The Boys of Wexford" are a group of men and women who play and sing Irish music, Americana, sea shanties, and folk music. They honor the patriots of 1798 with music and story. Don Sineti will be the featured artist.

In addition, Vice Versa Boutique will be holding a fashion show featuring a selection of clothing from several Park Road consignment shops. The show will take place in front of 266 Park Road.

The genesis of the Park Road Parade started in 1998 as a celebration to a two-year road reconstruction and beautification project which bonded both businesses and residents of the area. The project spanned Prospect Avenue to South Quaker Lane and included a new pavement, streetlights, and sidewalks. The theme then and now is to celebrate the neighborhood: its diversity of people, businesses and culture.

Bring the whole family to this wonderful celebration of West Hartford. For more information, call Richard Patrissi at 233-2447 or Renée McCue at 561-7521 or visit www.westhartford.org/ParkRoadParade.