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Ron Onesti to lead St. Patrick's Day parade in St. Charles

St. Charles will honor Irish heritage this Saturday with the city's annual St. Patrick's Day parade, but it will be a man more known for his Italian heritage leading the show.

In town, Ron Onesti is heralded as the savior of the city's iconic Arcada Theatre, which celebrated its 90th year this past fall.

In addition to his work at the theater, Onesti organizes a “Little Italy Fest-West” celebration in Addison every summer. But on Saturday, March 11, he'll be the grand marshal for St. Charles' 2017 St. Patrick's parade. Onesti will lead the parade march right past the Arcada Theatre starting at 2 p.m.

“When I first walked into the building in February 2005, something special was happening,” Onesti said in a quote on the Downtown St. Charles Partnership's Facebook page. “It was more of a presence rather than an actual visual experience. I could almost feel the place buzzing with excitement of the vaudeville shows and nickel silent films of days gone by. Mischievous kids with tattered clothes and shoes, sporting newsboy caps sneaking into the balcony, while adults in their Sunday best outfits would excitingly be attending the performances.”

Onesti will lead a performance of his own as some 90 entries are expected to partake in Saturday's parade. The route begins at the intersection of Main Street and Sixth Street. It travels down Main Street to Fourth Avenue.

Leprechauns, local marching bands, colorful floats, military veterans and Celtic pipe bands will be the highlights of the parade entries. The show will draw upward of 20,000 spectators. Street closures, detours and parking restrictions will begin as early as 11 a.m. on some roads near the parade route to allow for staging.

Attendees should dress warm and prepare for possible precipitation. The Saturday forecast for St. Charles calls for a high of 29 degrees, low of 19 degrees and a 60 percent chance of snow showers, according to weather.com.

The Classic Cavaliers perform in last year's St. Patrick's Day parade in St. Charles. Daily Herald File Photo
Paradegoers line Main Street to watch to the St. Patrick's Day parade in St. Charles last year. Daily Herald File Photo
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