WATCH: '110% certain' St. Pat's parade to return, with 'pre-pandemic' vibe

Hula Hooper Katie Sunshine warms up the crowd prior to the start of the First Ever 15th Annual World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade in 2018 on Bridge Street. - File photo by The Sentinel-Record
Hula Hooper Katie Sunshine warms up the crowd prior to the start of the First Ever 15th Annual World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade in 2018 on Bridge Street. - File photo by The Sentinel-Record


The First Ever 19th Annual World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade will definitely take place on March 17 at 6:30 p.m., Visit Hot Springs announced Monday.

"It's 110% certain we're going to have St. Patrick's Day this year," Visit Hot Springs CEO Steve Arrison told The Sentinel-Record on Tuesday. "It's an outdoor event. You can wear a mask if you like."

After two cancellations in 2020 and 2021, Cheech Marin, half of the comedy duo Cheech and Chong, and "Machete" actor Danny Trejo have been waiting two years to serve as celebrity grand marshal and official starter of the parade, respectively.

"We put them off now for two years," Arrison said. "So we're really excited to have them. They really want to see Hot Springs."

The parade has featured several celebrities as grand marshals, including Bo Derek and John Corbett twice. Derek served as grand marshal in 2010 and Corbett in 2011. They then shared the spotlight and served again together in 2013.

Arkansas Razorbacks head football coach Sam Pittman and his wife, Jamie, will serve as the parade's king and queen. Pittman recently led the Razorbacks to victory in the Outback Bowl 2022.



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The World's Biggest Leprechaun, Monte Everhart, will be joined by Arkansas radio personality Roger Scott, a Hot Springs native, as the parade's official leprechaun duo. Scott is one of the hosts of "Morning Mayhem," a show on Little Rock radio station 103.7 The Buzz.

Dick Antoine, who portrayed the World's Biggest Leprechaun since the beginning of the parade in 2004, died last year. He was forced to retire in 2020 due to health issues.

One of the returning attractions includes The Big Idaho Potato -- a 4-ton potato barely able to make the 90-degree turn from Central Avenue onto Bridge Street. Crowd favorites like the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, International Order of Irish Elvi Elvis impersonators, green Irish wolfhounds, Irish belly dancers, and other units will march down the 98-foot stretch of Bridge Street.

Along with the celebrity guests, there will be two free concerts for attendees. Foghat, the classic 1970s rock band, will play a free concert right after the parade. Sugar Ray will play a free concert on March 18. No chairs or coolers will be permitted at either concert, according to a news release.

"We're going to have everything that we had pre-pandemic," Arrison said.

The Blarney Stone Kissing Contest, along with the pre-parade festivities and the measuring of the 98-foot length of Bridge Street, will all be returning this year, starting at 4 p.m. on March 17.

"It'll be just like the parades in the past but I think we'll probably have the biggest crowd we've ever had," he said.

In 2004, the first parade on Bridge Street was organized as a way to attract visitors to Hot Springs. Parade participation and attendance has grown over the years, making it a St. Patrick's Day tradition for Hot Springs that has drawn national recognition.

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