Sobriety Checkpoint

“While everyone who is of age should enjoy a drink, they also need to drink responsibly,” said parade president Janet Higgins. “That has always been our position.”

The parade committee contacted Dave Mevoli, general manager of beer distributor T.J. Sheenan Distributing, about Guinness helping to sponsor the Saturday, March 12, march down South Salina Street. “We were a little bit hesitant, to be honest,” said Mevoli about donating funds to the parade. “The media coverage the last few years has been a little negative with respect to over-intoxication. Beer can be a part of sharing the day but it doesn’t have to be the main focus.”

So, charged with an agreement forged with Guinness, Sheehan spends a set amount of money each year on responsible-drinking campaigns. In addition to speaking about the initiative on Friday night, March 11, at the Grand Marshal’s Dinner, Mevoli will be getting the word out all week through local media.

“There are certain radio stations in the market I don’t advertise specifically on because a large number of their listeners are under age 21,” he explained. “I think some people pay attention to the message, but it’s all about repetition, repetition, repetition. We can’t put one message out there and say we’re done; it’s got to be repeated.”

Also worth repeating is the general revelry and respect that ensues around the largest per-capita parade, in terms of attendance, in the country. This year’s grand marshal, retiring Capt. Richard Walsh of the Syracuse Police Department, couldn’t be a more worthy recipient, according to Higgins.

“We couldn’t find a better, more deserving, person in the world than Richie Walsh,” she said. “He has done more silently for this community than anyone I can imagine. And the fact that he’s retiring—this honor couldn’t happen at a better time for him. What better way to go out than to have a parade for yourself?” Higgins reported that 125 floats have entered the parade so far, a lower number than usual, “but people still call me the day before the parade. This year we are having a replica of an original Wells Fargo stagecoach, drawn by horses. When they deliver it to the staging area they’re using a 100-foot truck. And the cannon that we use to start the parade, we were told can’t be anywhere near the horses. The politicians just show up, though; {local political savant} Herman Schatz tells me who’s coming. He told me last week that {U.S. Sen.} Charles Schumer is coming, and I got a call a few days later from Schumer’s office telling me the same time. {Representative for the 25th District} Ann Marie Buerkle, so far, thinks she is coming.”

The community is invited to bring a non-perishable food item to donate for the Hunger Project. If that’s not possible, parade volunteers will be collecting cash for the same cause. “The barrels are out from 10 a.m. to noon,” Higgins said. “And if everyone brings a food item, that would really make a huge difference. Cash donations go to the Food Bank of Central New York, while all the actual food items go to the InterReligious Food Consortium and they divide it up from there.”

The 29th annual Syracuse St. Patrick’s Parade steps off from Clinton Square, led by St. Patrick himself, Sheriff Kevin Walsh, at noon on Saturday. The parade route then heads down South Salina Street before turning onto West Onondaga Street. For more information, visit www.syracusestpatricksparade.org.

—Georgia Williams

Fitting Tribute The dedication of a seat in Joan Vadeboncoeur’s honor capped the March 1 celebration of her life and career as the go-to entertainment writer at the Syracuse Newspapers— first the Herald-Journal and Herald- American before both succumbed to the Post-Standard. Colleagues, friends, family and local theater operatives spoke to her impact on their careers, and how her unyielding critical eye was feared, revered and ultimately respected.