DOVER, De. - Although Loockerman Street is still decorated for Valentine's Day and even Christmas, the calendar is inches closer to March 17. Brynn Voshell of the Downtown Dover Partnership is hard at work planning the annual Saint Patrick's Day parade.
But this year, the parade has been pushed back a week due to a scheduling conflict as well as a lack of volunteers. "We found out after our first parade meeting that the Wilmington parade falls on the same day as well as a lot of community and school activities, therefore our parade grand marshal would not be able to be there, a few of our committee members, and a lot of the clubs and organizations would not be able to attend," explained Voshell. Voshell ran a poll on Facebook, offering up two dates to move the parade to. Moving the parade back to March 21 will also to help recruit volunteers, which the parade committee is short on this year. Voshell explained that community participation is critical to the parade's success. "We're always looking for volunteers. The base helps us out a lot, but we need volunteers for the line up, volunteers for the route, volunteers for the plaza, set up of the stage and everything else." Stores we spoke with such as Bel Boutique on Loockerman Street says Parade Day is always busy, and moving the date likely won't change that. "It's usually really crowded. The street is full of people waiting for the parade. We usually blow up a ton of Bel Boutique balloons and go hand them out to all the kids, it's a lot of fun, and then we usually get a really nice rush of customers," said Brittany LeClair. It also spreads out the St. Patrick's Day festivities. Smyrna's parade is scheduled for Sunday, March 10, while Wilmington's is scheduled for Saturday, March 14. The Dover St. Patrick's Day parade steps off at 1pm on March 21 at Legislative Mall. If you're interested in volunteering, you can contact the Downtown Dover Partnership on
Facebook, or contact Brynn Voshell at Brynn@DowntownDoverPartnership.com
