Steve McVittie: Vancouver's St. Patrick's Day Parade Marshal
 |
|
THE WEEKEND VILLAGE MARKET PLACE located in downtown Vancouver is very popular. |
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
VANCOUVER - Steve McVittie has been the St. Patrick's Day parade marshal for the past four years and this year he will be celebrating number five at the helm of one of the biggest parades in Vancouver.
This year's St. Patrick's Day parade will be held on March 16 as part of the Edgewater Casino CelticFest in downtown Vancouver, to be held from March 12 to 16.
The parade is one of the highlights of the five day Celtic festival and organizers estimate a crowd of more than 300,000 will line the streets for the parade.
Steve recently spoke to The Celtic Connection about how this year's event is shaping up.
He said one thing he noticed this year is that entries have been coming in earlier. He believes this is probably because everyone wants to be sure of placement in the parade. In previous years entries often didn't come in until the last minute, causing a lot of last minute re-shuffling.
Another thing this year is that the entries are more diversified, which can only add interest for the crowds watching the parade. In previous years the parade leaned heavily toward dancers and bands.
Unlike other parades, when the parade is over, people leave the downtown core, McVittie said, after the Vancouver St. Patrick's Day Parade, people stay downtown and visit the Celtic Market Place, restaurants and pubs. There is music on the street corners and this year they have a Kids Zone - a whole street dedicated to the kids.
Steve said, "I'm receiving some very positive comments from this year's parade entries. You know most parades are for commercial purposes and exposure for business purposes. But a lot of the comments that I'm hearing from this year's entries, is that they're entering the parade because they want to give back to the community."
 |
|
STEVE McVITTIE |
He said the parade is evolving and this year there will be a lot more media coverage. "We're going to have an announcer this year letting people on the sidelines know something about the parade entries which will help people watching the parade feel more inclusive in the event."
Steve is in need of a lot of volunteers to work along the parade route. No experience is necessary as they will be trained by others who have previously worked the parade. To volunteer for the parade, contact volunteer coordinator Joy-Ann Lee at (604) 736-4939. Volunteer application forms can also be obtained from the website.
One of the great things about being a volunteer is that Rita Albano, the Executive Producer for CelticFest, is very good at making the volunteers feel part of the family. She has volunteer appreciation functions both before and after the parade.
For more information about the parade, contact Steve McVittie at (604) 538-2277, or e- mail: celtict@telus.net.
The parade route map can be obtained from the CelticFest website at: www.celticfestvancouver.com. Information about CelticFest activities is also available on the website.
| 
