St. Patrick’s Day Parade to bring community together

ROYAL OAK — On March 14, the annual Royal Oak St. Patrick's Day Parade will return to honor Irish heritage and bring fun for the whole family, according to parade organizers. 

The parade will begin at noon March 14 at Royal Oak Middle School, 709 N. Washington Ave., and travel south on Washington Avenue, and then turn westbound on West Seventh Street, according to the parade website, royaloakstpatricksdayparade.org. 

According to parade President Al Carter, this year the parade will feature a tribute to the United States’ 250th birthday. 

“This year is extra special because we are celebrating the 250th birthday of the USA, our great country,” Carter said. “Ironically, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade goes all the way back to 1776 when George Washington actually allowed his troops to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day because he had a large portion of Irish descents in his army.”

The grand marshal of the parade this year will be Mike Frentz, of Frentz & Sons Hardware, a historic hardware store in Royal Oak. 

“We are excited for that and all the contributions that Mike has made for the city, not only as the best hardware store in town, but also with his volunteering aspects that goes with that,” he said. “Our honorary grand marshal is Father Paul Snyder, from Royal Oak St. Mary’s Catholic Church. He was chosen because St. Mary played a big part in the parade.”

The parade will end at St. Mary Catholic Church, at 730 S. Lafayette Ave.

As always, the parade will include a variety of Royal Oak businesses and residents, including Irish dancers and bagpipers. 

“We have more bagpipers this year in addition to we have the Michigan Scottish Pipes and Drums band that will be playing with us. It’s the first time this year that they will be included, so that’s really exciting,” Carter said. “We are trying to have it so that it’s bigger every year, and we have grown since the initiation in 1999. We’ve grown from 30 participants all the way to over 60, and this year we are hoping to beat that, as people are still signing up.”

Featured in the parade will be customized floats created by Shrine Elementary School and local businesses. There will be prizes awarded to the best float at the end of the parade, at the after-party at Fifth Avenue, 215 W. Fifth St. 

 The parade is always a special experience for the organizers, who according to Carter put their all into the planning and execution of this tradition. 

“For me being the parade chairperson, this event is so special to me because it’s personal. I grew up not only in a big Irish family — I am the youngest of 15 — but we always celebrated St. Patrick's Day, and we always went to the parade,” he said. “Personally, for myself and my family, we come down to the Royal Oak parade, and we actually live here. It's like a tradition, and we rely on those traditions, because it is one of Royal Oak’s finest traditions.”

Parade Secretary Rocky Shattuck also has a special spot in his heart for the parade. Shattuck said that it’s a fun experience that brings the Royal Oak community closer together each year.

“For me, it's to celebrate, honor and preserve that Irish culture and heritage. I think what’s a better way than doing that with a parade, bringing the community together, family, kids, all ages,” Shattuck said. “A big thing we want is to bring people to Royal Oak and support the businesses in the morning and then afterwards for lunch, and we want to encourage that culture and preserve that heritage of Ireland through the parade. It means a lot to me.”

Shattuck said that planning the parade this year was another great experience, and he said that the people who plan the parade are all volunteers, so it’s refreshing to see people come together for the common goal of community.

“We are all volunteers, so it's all hands on deck, we have to reach out to all of the local partners and restaurants to sponsor the parade so we can make it happen,” he said. “I don’t think people think about what goes into planning these community events and its costs, so having that community support in our sponsors is so important.”

Both Carter and Shattuck said that everybody should show up and show out with their best green to the parade on March 14, and enjoy the after-party at Fifth Avenue with food and refreshments. 

“In a time where our world needs it the most, we want everybody to just come together, from all walks of life, have fun, enjoy it, and that's what's so important,” Carter said. “It’s always a good feeling afterwards when people say they had a good time.”

For more information on the parade, visit royaloakstpatricksday.org.