Naperville's St. Patrick's Day Parade gets ready to roll out
The Naperville-based West Suburban Irish group has a three-part motto: friendship, fun and service.
Its members run a host of activities each year that fulfill that mission, but none more so than the Naperville St. Patrick's Day Parade, which returns on Saturday to downtown.
For more than 20 years, the members of West Suburban Irish have worked together to create a family-friendly parade that celebrates Irish heritage and draws the Naperville community together, while also raising money for several nonprofit groups.
Depending on the weather, up to 20,000 participants in past years have donned green attire as they greet the floats, or cheer on the Naperville St. Paddy's Day 5K that starts before the parade.
Chuck Corrigan, a member of West Suburban Irish and a parade organizer, said many factors contribute to the popularity of the parade, which steps off at 10 a.m. from Naperville North High School.
"St. Patrick's Day parades have a reputation of being fun, generally," said Corrigan, a Naperville resident. "But I think it's also the timing of the year. People are excited to get outdoors and do something after the long winter."
Ninety-eight floats will roll along the parade route this year, including one with this year's grand marshal, Naperville Deputy Police Chief Brian Cunningham.
Cunningham was selected for his years of service that started when he joined the department as a patrol officer 1986. He rose through the ranks and became deputy chief in 2013, while also serving as DuPage Major Crimes Task Force Commander.
During his career, Cunningham has become a member of the Naperville Honor Guard and earned several awards, including the department's Distinguished Service Award, VFW Officer of the Year and the Pradel Award.
But his Irish street cred helps a bit, too. Cunningham was once a member of the Irish punk rock band the Sharky Doyles, playing bagpipes, tin whistle and singing backup.
"We were pretty good!" he says with a laugh.
Cunningham also has been a longtime member of the more distinguished Pipes and Drums of the Emerald Society. He says being chosen as grand marshal is, "an honor, of course."
Another float will feature this year's West Suburban Irish Parade Queen, Noelle Johnston, who was selected based on her Irish ancestry, as well as her involvement in the community and her school, Naperville North. She has been helping to organize West Suburban Irish's Emerald Dinner, which raises funds for charity and to host the parade, since she was a child.
Her court features Allison Clymer from Neuqua Valley; Lucy Zimmerman from Benet Academy; Erin Feldman from Naperville Central; and Gabrielle Santucci from Waubonsie Valley.
The Rosebuds court of younger parade royalty features Elizabeth Wronski, 9; Molly Baehl, 7; Natalie Richards, 8; and Sloane Cieckiewicz, 8.
The pageantry and the fun of the St. Patrick's Day Parade all benefit charity, particularly the St. Baldrick's Foundation.
Money donated to St. Baldrick will fund childhood cancer research. All money is directed to selected research grants, according to the organization's website.
And to help a local charity, onlookers also are encouraged to bring nonperishable foods to donate to Loaves and Fishes Community Services pantry.
"We want to get together and share our culture and have fun, but do something for our community at the same time," Corrigan said.
The parade route will run from Naperville North on Mill Street south of Ogden Avenue, proceed south on Mill Street to Jefferson, then east on Jefferson to Main Street, south on Main Street to Water Street, ending at Water Street.
For those who can't make the parade, NCTV-17 will be airing it on cable public access Channel 17 in Naperville or through video streaming at NCTV17.com.