The World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade will have its first "Toastmaster General" this year.
Tim Herlihy, the Tullamore D.E.W. United States Ambassador, has selected Hot Springs' First Ever 14th Annual World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade as the event he'll attend on March 17.
"Tim Herlihy is known all over the world as the man who can come up with a great toast for every occasion," Steve Arrison, CEO of Visit Hot Springs and one of the creators of the parade, said Monday in a news release. "He's sought everywhere as the greatest toastmaster for any St. Patrick's Day event. And this year he elected to come to Hot Springs to help us celebrate."
Arrison said Herlihy will deliver an "Official Parade Toast" during the parade and will also serve as toastmaster at other events surrounding the zany Hot Springs parade.
Born and raised in Ireland, Herlihy began his Irish whiskey career with the Cooley Distillery and has traveled to numerous distilleries across Ireland, Scotland, the United States and beyond, studying firsthand the history of whiskey and the entire production process from malting to maturation, the release said.
In his role as Tullamore D.E.W Ambassador, Herlihy has made presentations at whiskey shows and cocktail weeks, presenting on Irish whiskey history, cocktails and one of his favorite topics, the history of the Irish pub, it said.
In 2016, he completed a 30-day "Ultimate Irish Pub Tour," visiting all 50 states searching for the very best Irish pubs across America. He has presented Irish, whiskey and cocktail segments on "Access Hollywood Live," "Fox and Friends," "The Steve Harvey Show" and other media outlets. In 2016, Herlihy was announced as Whisky Magazine's Icons of Whisky: Best Irish Whiskey Ambassador, the release said.
"We first ran into Tim last year; he stopped at an Irish pub in every one of the United States, ending up, I think, in Boston on St. Patrick's Day. And he stopped here at the Copper Penny," Arrison said in an interview on Monday. "So we met him at the Copper Penny a week or two before St. Patrick's Day last year, and we contacted him this year and of all the places around the United States that he could spend St. Patrick's Day, he decided to spend it at our shortest little parade, so we're just really excited about it."
Famed for his toasting talents and never at a loss for a toast for any and every occasion, an Irish whiskey expert, and natural raconteur, Herlihy travels the United States educating, entertaining and sharing his passion for Tullamore D.E.W. Irish Whiskey.
"(Herlihy) was just reading about the parade and everything we have going this year and I just think it caught his interest. What's really great for us is that he travels all around the country -- he just did a big promotion in Chicago, I think, and he's been in Vegas, and everybody wants to know where he's going to be on St. Patrick's Day, one of the representatives from an Irish whiskey company, you know, 'Where are you going to be?' and he's saying 'Hot Springs, Arkansas,'" Arrison said.
Tullamore D.E.W. is bringing in a pub that will be set up in front of the Hot Springs Convention Center on St. Patrick's Day and parade-goers will have an opportunity to taste some of the whiskey for themselves.
This year's World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade will feature TV star Alfonso Ribeiro as the celebrity grand marshal and wrestling legend Ric Flair as the official starter. Musician Uncle Kracker will perform a free concert immediately after the parade, which will begin at 6:30 p.m. March 17.
Local on 02/07/2017