Mini St Patrick’s parade in Saltmills
A parade with a difference will take place later this month in Saltmills when a multitude of miniature floats will be on show to the delight of children.
This year for the first time the Saltmills and St Kearns Community Group and the St Kearns Rowing Club have come up with a way for children of all ages to recapture the excitement of a St Patrick’s Day parade in their local community.
On Sunday, March 22, at noon, the newly renovated space ‘ The Buildings’ in Saltmills will play host to the event run by the RC Maniacs Club. Remote-controlled trucks will transport floats on a journey through time and space.
Members of the public are invited to make their own floats and bring them along on the day where they will be placed on the backs of the miniature trucks for the parade. Videographer Declan Colfer will be on hand to film the parade and project it onto a big screen.
Chair of the Saltmills and St Kearns Community Group Kate Murphy, said: ‘ The dimensions of your float should be maximum 38cm long, 23cm wide and 23cm tall and not exceed a weight of 1kg. The only limit is your imagination, with the exception of live animals, birds or insects.’
There are four categories for entries: children under 12, young people 12–18, adults and businesses.
Entry fees are €5 for under 18s, €15 for adults and €25 for businesses. All proceeds from this event are in aid of the St Kearns Rowing Club and the Saltmills and St Kearns Community Group.
There will also be displays of model trains and other vehicles to entertain all ages. Refreshments will be available on the day also.
The Saltmills and St Kearns Community Group is a voluntary community group created to provide an inclusive and creative forum for the support and enhancement of community initiatives.
In particular, the group aims to preserve social history, foster social inclusion and facilitate community projects that will benefit the local community and visitors.
Ms Murphy said: ‘We are delighted to be able to use our newly renovated space for this event and hope it will be the first of many exciting and innovative events that the community will be able to host here. I would like to thank the RC Maniacs Club for their support in making this happen and we invite everyone to have a go a making their own float. Create it small, see it big! Make sure all parts are secured to your base, we don’t want to lose anything.’
Chairman of St Kearns Rowing Club Peter Mullan said: ‘St Kearns Rowing Club is usually on the water but we are very happy to switch the boats for remote-controlled trucks for this event. I would encourage everyone to get creative and help us make this an event to remember. I’m really looking forward to seeing the results on the big screen and I’d like to thank Declan Colfer for his continuing support for the Rowing Club and the Community Group.’