A Nervous Start to a Great Day
by Malachy Mahon
VANCOUVER - I woke up on March 13, the morning of the St. Patrick's Day Parade. My wife said, "You look nervous." She was right, I was. Here we were closing down Granville Street for the first official St. Patrick's Day Parade. All this had been arranged in less than eight weeks and I had my doubts about us being able to pull it off to the standard that has become expected of the Celtic Heritage Society.
AT THE COMMODORE BALLROOM to see the Irish Descendants were Alice Mahon, celebrated Riverdance dancer Joel Hanna and Malachy Mahon, President of the Celtic Heritage Society of Canada.
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It was 9 AM when I arrived at Granville Street and it was deserted. Police barriers were blocking side streets. As I stood there, I could see a green line where a yellow one should be. All of a sudden, I saw a Pontiac Grand Am heading north on the left hand side of the street. Suddenly, I thought I was back in Ireland. But there was Steve McVitty with a sign on his car, which read Parade Marshal.
He had a smile stretching from ear to ear. At seeing that look on his face, I felt confident that we had pulled it off. Steve only joined the Society recently but in a short time he has shown leadership and has demonstrated that he could get the job done. I have learned to respect his professionalism and what a job he has done.
The parade has rocketed the Society forward and placed it in a much stronger position for funding. It was all a great success and imagine what next year's parade can be with a full year to plan. I want to thank all the volunteers who came out, way too many to name. I would especially like to thank the readers of The Celtic Connection for giving us their support and the businesses who supported us.
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