St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner but this year, there will not be a parade in Halifax to help celebrate and according to a member of the parade society, that should be a wakeup call.
Sue Uteck says, this year, it was because of low numbers that caused them to pull the plug.
“As of January 29, we only had nine entries into the parade. We have to make a decision before we start laying out thousands of dollars to make the parade happen,” says Uteck.
This is the second year in a row that the parade, which has been around for nearly 20 years, did not go ahead. Last year it was because they didn’t get the permits they needed, in time.
“Hosting a parade requires an outlay of expenditures. So, it’s street closures, it’s planning, it’s mapping, it’s fine trinkets, it’s getting volunteers,” says Uteck.
Then, in 2025 less than three weeks before the parade was supposed to happen, they cancelled not knowing where their route was going to be.
Uteck says they are small but mighty and will continue to try and put on the parade next year, however, she wants to retire from it and they need “fresh blood.”
“We’re Haligonians. We don’t do things until the last minute. Well, you can’t kind of do that on a parade,” explains Uteck. “We’re hoping that a fresh group of people on the committee will bring new ideas and how we market it differently.”
She says in the past they have had as much as 35 entrants and large crowds attend.
The event was set for March 15.
