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St. James volunteer firefighter and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey civil engineer Thomas Donohue has had more than one life experience he considers amazing. 
 They include being part of the team that physically brought the 14,000-pound bow tie column recovered at Tower One of the World Trade Center to the St. James 9/11 Memorial in 2011; and the birth of his sons, George, 8, and Matthew, 5. 
 Donohue admitted that serving as the grand marshal of the 29th Annual St. James St. Patrick's Day Parade on Saturday ranks right up there. 
 “It’s definitely an honor,” said Donohue, a 41-year-old St. James resident, who was honored for his volunteer work in the area, including 24 years with the fire department. “There were a lot of great people before me that were grand marshals .?.?. I am just very happy to be here with my wife Theresa and my sons.” 
 The parade, hosted by the St. James Chamber of Commerce, entertained 5,000 revelers, according to organizers. The parade kicked off Saturday afternoon at Woodlawn Avenue, and the route traveled along Lake Avenue, ending at Railroad Avenue. 
 The parade’s lineup included pipe and marching bands, dance groups, floats, fire trucks and antique cars. The event also featured four parade princes and three princesses. 
 Ten-year-old parade princess Jasmine Keenan, of St. James, loved every minute of being in the parade, especially wearing her tiara. 
 “The parade is exciting for me because I get to ride in the car and wave to everybody,” said Keenan. 
 She attended the parade with her mother, Kim Keenan, and their 6-year-old poodle Jellybean, who fittingly, had his hair dyed green for the event. 
 “I have been bringing Jasmine to this parade since she was a baby. We love it. The parade is always exciting for us, from tossing the beads to marching,” said Kim Keenan. 
 Four-year-old parade prince Jack Moylan, of St. James, shared his favorite part of being in this year’s parade. “I like throwing candy at people. It’s fun,” he said. 
 Parade director Kerry Maher of St. James was thrilled to see the thousands of smiling faces on people wearing green. 
 “We started this parade to have the community come together and celebrate their Irish heritage,” said Maher, who is in her ninth year running the parade. "I love being here with my friends and family. People come from all over for this parade. It’s a great parade.”

Firefighter leads parade in St. James

Volunteer firefighter leads St. James St. Patrick's Day Parade

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Sporting green and orange hats, colored fake mustaches and boas, thousands of families from the Moriches area lined Main Street Sunday afternoon to take part in a St. Patrick’s Day parade they say tops all others. 
 “I think ours is the best one, because everyone from our community comes out,” said Allison Montesanto, a mother of three from Center Moriches, as she waited with her family for the 11th annual parade in her town to start. 
 Pointing to the sea of people wearing Kelly green that stretched through the downtown area, she said, “Everyone on this street either lives in Center or close to Center [and] it’s a nice time for everyone to reconnect after a long winter.” 
 The hourlong parade, which kicked off at 2 p.m., captured the “small town charm” that Montesanto said attracted her to move to Center Moriches 11 years ago. 
 “Families have been here for generations and generations,” she said. “… Everyone says ‘Hi’ even if you don’t know each other.” 
 Growing up in Wading River, Mary Kate Helmsing, who now lives in Indiana, had always attended the Rocky Point St. Patrick’s Day parade as a child. However, while visiting family in the area, Helmsing chose Center Moriches for her 11-month-old daughter Emma’s first parade. 
 “This one is more small town,” she added. 
 The parade featured pipes and drums, the Center Moriches High School marching band, gymnasts and Irish step dancers, who each performed as they made their way down Main Street. 
 It was the second year that Brenna Douglas, 9, was step dancing with the Kildare Academy, an Irish dance school with three locations, including one in Center Moriches. 
 “You get to dress up in green and wave and have fun,” said the Manorville girl, who has been dancing for four years. 
 Spectators, young and old, also enjoyed the fire trucks, classic cars and creative floats that rode past them. The Center Moriches Civic Association took first place with their “castle” float, which included shamrocks, rainbows and pots of gold. 
 Also marching in the parade this year, were Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, martial arts students, and group trained in the art of wielding light sabers. They were all led down Main Street by this year’s grand marshal Ed Morris Sr. 
 “There’s nothing like being honored by your hometown,” Morris said. “It’s something special.” 
 Walking close behind him, some of his family members, who also live in the Moriches area, carried a banner that read “Our Papa is the Grand Marshal.” His grandnieces stood on Main Street, waving Irish flags, and eagerly waiting for him to pass by. 
 Since moving to the Moriches area 35 years ago, Morris has been active in the community, especially with the Little League program. Still, he was pleasantly surprised and honored when he found out he was chosen to be grand marshal this year. 
 “I’ve been to many other parades,” he said. “The best part of Center Moriches is it’s a small Main Street parade .?.?. It’s beautiful and it’s over within an hour.”

‘Small town charm’ at Moriches parade

Thousands attend Center Moriches St. Patrick’s parade for ‘small town charm’

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Ten-year-old Gianna Cucci, of Setauket and her seven-year-old brother Dillon Cucci waved excitedly to the crowd from their parade float. 
 Debra Soltan, of Ronkonkoma smiled while saying ‘Happy St. Patrick’s Day’ as she marched. Donna Hastings and her son Michael Hastings, of Ronkonkoma threw green beads to enthusiastic spectators. 
 They were all proud of their Irish heritage and among an estimated 30,000 celebrating Sunday at Ronkonkoma’s 23rd annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus St. Regis Council. 
 “My favorite part is waving to all the people,” said Gianna Cucci. 
 Soltan said she has been coming to the parade for years and it gets better every time. “I love everything about it,” she said, “the people and celebrating.” 
 The parade route began on Patchogue Road and traveled along Portion Road to Hawkins Avenue, ending at St. Joseph’s Church on Church Street. It featured 95 marching groups. 
 With excited onlookers on the sidelines wearing green from head to toe, this year’s parade grand marshal, Suffolk County Legislator John M. Kennedy, Jr., waved as he led the parade. He said he enjoyed attending mass at St. Joseph’s Church that morning and the supportive community. 
 “This is a great honor,” said Kennedy, 56, of Nesconset, who represents the 12th District. “This is a genuine expression that the people in the community like what I do. I love seeing the people on the sidelines and talking to them. It’s great.” 
 The parade started as a way to give back to the community and recognize the Irish heritage, according to Parade Founder and Chairman Martin Gaughan, of Manorville. 
 “I love to see the community come out and enjoy the parade,” he said. “It’s wonderful to see the families wearing so much green and it makes me proud. I am very excited about the parade.” 
 Parade Coordinator Paula Martire, of Ronkonkoma agreed. “I have been doing this for 23 years and it’s always amazing to see all the support from the community,” she said. “It takes a tremendous amount of work to make this happen and it is wonderful to see how well it comes together.”

Ronkonkoma parade draws crowd of 30,000

Ronkonkoma St. Patrick's Day Parade attracts crowd of 30,000

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The Spizuoco family, of Westhampton, comes down to Main Street for the Westhampton Beach St. Patrick’s Day parade every year, but it’s not just for the floats and pageantry. 
 “They get to see all their friends,” Tabitha Spizuoco said about her three boys, Owen, Alex and Henry. “The sense of the whole community coming together brings us down every year.” 
 That’s not all the kids come for, according to Robert Kilroy of East Moriches, who brought his son, Luke, 8, to Westhampton Beach for their sixth trip to the 46th annual parade. 
 “He likes the candy the best,” Kilroy said. 
 Christina Ferro, 24, of Westhampton, was at the parade with her friend, Meredith Egan, 23, who came down from Connecticut, and another friend, Dianna Dougherty, 23, of Rocky Point, who came to the parade for the first time because her brother was marching with the Veterans of Foreign Wars. 
 For Ferro, her hometown parade is just the beginning of an annual St. Patrick’s celebration routine. 
 “We go to the Westhampton parade and then next week we go up to Newport, Rhode Island,” Ferro said. “It’s our second time doing this and it’s become an annual thing.” 
 Tim Laube has been the president of the parade committee for seven years and credits the village with allowing them to put on the large parade that features about 100 units marching down Main Street. 
 “My favorite part is the community spirit,” Laube said. “People come out in droves. It’s like Thanksgiving in spring because everyone comes home for it.” &nbsp;

'Everyone comes home' for Hamptons parade

Westhampton Beach St. Patrick's Day Parade: 'Everyone comes home for it'

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The Falta and Ricciardi family never misses the Cutchogue St. Patrick’s Day Parade, simply because it passes right in front of their grandmother’s home on Main Street at Cutchogue Family Farms. 
 But the ninth annual parade's route also featured a variety of animal spectators. Sniffles Aloysius, a goat, wasn’t in the parade this year because his owner, Eileen Wall of Southold, was worried the fire engines would startle him. 
 “We’re just observing this year,” she said. “Next year, he’ll be here marching since he handled it so well.” 
 Lisa Finne and Kate Nickles of Southold were also escorted to the parade by Sweetie Pie and her son, Cocoa Puffs, two ponies from LIttle Red Barn in Jamesport. 
 Ultimately, the main point of the parade is to give back to the community, Joe Corso said. Corso organized the parade with a couple guys of from the Cutchogue Fire Department in the beginning because nobody in the area had a St. Patrick’s Day parade. Corso also acts as the emcee for the event. 
 It started as a treat for locals with 22 groups parading down Main Street, but now it’s grown into a much larger event with more than 50 groups. 
 “It transformed into a North Fork parade,” Corso said. “Everybody gets a thrill out of it. You get to the end of winter and you want to get out and do something fun and this is perfect.”

Cutchogue celebrates 9th St. Pat's parade

Cutchogue celebrates ninth St. Patrick's Day parade 

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Wearing a shamrock headband bopper, Hope Beck, 6, and her painted-green puggle Cleo both rushed over to collect tootsie rolls that were thrown from a parade “float.” 
 Beck was among the nearly 150 spectators standing on the sidewalk of Main Street during the fifth annual “Am O'Gansett” St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Saturday. 
 “I like how they’re throwing candy,” said Beck, of Montauk. “This is so fun.” Marchers or those in trucks also gave out green beads, toilet paper and dog treats along the route. 
 Starting at noon, the parade — coined the shortest St. Patrick’s Day parade by locals — traveled west on Main Street from Amagansett Free Library a couple blocks and looped back around -- finishing 15 minutes later than last year, at 30 minutes. 
 Wearing a green hat and tie, grand marshal Htun Han, who was born in Burma and has lived in Amagansett for 36 years, led the parade, throwing green beads to the crowd. 
 “This is all for fun. It’s the shortest parade, but why not?” said Han, 63, a real estate broker at Hamptons Realty Group and local EMT and fireman. “This is the perfect way to end winter and start spring, and with a bang.” 
 Patty Sales, vice president of the Amagansett Chamber of Commerce, walked beside him, wearing bright green pants and a golden fedora covered in shamrock confetti. 
 “It all started on the sidewalk,” said Sales, 52, of East Hampton. “Five years ago, there were only 10 people marching in this parade on the sidewalk, now it has grown so much. Everyone loves it, it’s fun and what else is there to do in March?” 
 Also taking part in the parade were the Amagansett Fire Department, Quackenbush Cesspools, East Hampton-based rock band Spork, Montauk Friends of Erin, Girl Scout troops, The Hampton Jitney, the Computer Shop and Stephen Talkhouse. 
 Donning a top hat, Ken Wessberg rode a penny-farthing — a type of bicycle with a large front wheel and smaller rear wheel that was built in 1890 — carefully down Main Street. 
 “I’m the third generation in my family to ride this bike and I’ve been in the parade since the beginning,” said Wessberg, of East Hampton. “I love being in the parade and it’s great because it’s short which means I don’t have to pedal far.” 
 Wearing a green wig and colorful beads, Michelle Norrman, 32, of Wantagh, traveled to the South Fork just to witness the parade with her mother, Doreen Lusty, 58. It’s tradition. 
 “It’s never been this big before, so this is quite impressive,” said Lusty, of Amagansett. “It literally went from blizzard to spring. I’m just so glad to see everyone coming out. It’s such a small parade, but it’s our parade.”

Smallest St. Pat's parade grows, a little

St. Patrick's Day parade in Amagansett grows, relatively speaking

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The Bay Shore-Brightwaters St. Patrick’s Day Parade started in 2001 and drew a crowd of 15,000. 
 On Saturday, organizers said the parade drew close to 40,000 people dressed from head to toe in green, eager to celebrate. 
 The parade route started on Saxon Avenue and Main Street in Bay Shore and traveled west on Main Street, ending at St. Patrick’s Church. 
 Bay Shore-Brightwaters St. Patrick’s Committee president John Fleming, 69, of Smithtown, was elated to see the thousands of smiling faces in the crowd. 
 “It’s a great parade. Everyone is dressed in green and it’s great. This parade is not only bagpipers, we go beyond,” Fleming said. 
 The parade began as a way to acknowledge the large Irish community in the Bay Shore and Brightwaters areas. 
 “We want to recognize our Irish heritage and this parade is fun for everyone,” Fleming said. “I always get excited about this parade because I enjoy seeing the happy people on the sidelines. It’s gratifying putting this parade together because so many people have made this into a family day.”&nbsp; 
 This year’s grand marshal was John Cochrane Sr., of Bay Shore, 83, a former state assemblyman and Suffolk County treasurer who was thrilled to participate in the parade. 
 “It is a tremendous honor. I was born and raised in Bay Shore. I just left a beautiful mass at St. Patrick’s Church and the Hibernian Festival Singers sang and now I am ready to celebrate at the parade,” he said. 
 With his 6-year-old son, Bobby Kerr, sitting high on his shoulders, Bob Kerr, of Fire Island, marched in the parade along with other students and parents from St. Patrick’s School in Bay Shore. 
 “I love hanging out with the kids and the weather is great today. We are having fun,” he said.

40,000 celebrate St. Patrick's in Bay Shore

Nearly 40,000 celebrate St. Patrick's Day with Bay Shore-Brightwaters parade

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“I think they have Leprechauns in this parade,” 9-year-old Kate McNerney said Sunday afternoon as she sat in the back of her family’s minivan, sipping hot cocoa with her 5-year-old sister, Shayla, and waiting for the 22nd annual Bethpage St. Patrick’s Day Parade to start. 
 The girls, who had traveled from Merrick to watch their grandpa -- former Bethpage Fire Commissioner Nick Markakis -- march down Stewart Avenue, were among the many families who braved the 30-degree weather to take part in the celebration. 
 Like the McNerney girls, many came out to support relatives who were marching in the parade, which featured local veterans, pipes and drums, Irish step dancers, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, “Teddy Roosevelt” and volunteer firefighters from Bethpage and surrounding communities. 
 Kaitlin Mulvihill, 7, didn’t know anyone in the parade, but she traveled from Seaford with her family, as they do every year, to meet up with friends and watch the spectacle. 
 “I like the drummers with the pom pom sticks,” said the Maria Regina School student, who plays in the Seaford school’s pipes and drums band. 
 Attending the parade for a second year was Dominick Gontarek, 5, of Bethpage, who said he too was looking forward to seeing the bagpipers and drummers perform as he stood on Broadway with his parents, clutching a stuffed dog he named Squirt and waving an Irish flag. 
 “This is a great hometown parade,” said Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, a Bethpage native who served as grand marshal two years ago. “It’s a real family and community event … Just look at how many of our residents come out and enjoy a wonderful day, celebrating St. Patrick and enjoying in some merriment afterward.” 
 Mangano joined other former grand marshals, community members and this year’s grand marshal, Deacon Thomas R. Hennessy, for a Mass at St. Martin of Tours before the parade kicked off at 2 p.m. 
 “It’s nice how they have the Mass first,” he said. “It reminds you of why you are celebrating the day.” 
 Mangano described Hennessy as a “wonderful gentleman” whose family donates a great deal of time and effort to the church. 
 “It’s beyond belief to see all these people out here, wishing me so well,” Hennessy said. “It’s just wonderful and I appreciate it so much.” 
 Although Hennessy has marched in the St. Patrick’s Day parade in New York City, he said, the Bethpage one is special to him, adding, “Since it’s in your hometown, it’s a big thrill.” 
 After the parade made its way from Central Avenue to Broadway, Hennessy was honored during a brief ceremony. The festivities then continued inside St. Martin of Tours, where a party was held featuring live Irish music, dancing, food and libations. 
 Mangano added, “Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day.” &nbsp;

Cold doesn't stop St. Patrick's Day parade

Bethpage braves cold for St. Patrick's Day parade

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Story guide: St. Patrick's Day parades

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