Huge dancing puppets a hit at St. Pat’s parade
Children stared with wide eyes, parents snapped photos, and the creator gazed upon his puppets with pride.
The two 15-foot tall Irishdancer puppets wore black and green dresses, and their curly hair blew in the wind. The fantastical-looking figures waited for a while in large chairs in a parking lot Saturday morning, and then professional dancers led the puppets to their places in the annual Dublin St. Patrick’s Day Parade lineup.
Before the parade stepped off at 11 a.m. from near Metro Place North in Dublin, a crew from Canada inflated several large balloons — always fan favorites and a parade signature — and taught walkers to hold the strings. This year, there were three shamrock inflatables, a top hat and a pot of gold. Strong winds, however, grounded a large Irish-bear balloon.
Though many attendees at first gawked at the balloons, they would soon catch sight of the puppets and either drift nearer to get a better look or point them out to others as the puppets danced their way down the street.
The dolls debuted at the parade this year with eight professional dancers hoisting bamboo poles and pulling straps to bring their Irish jigs to life.
The puppets symbolize not only the tradition of celebrating Irish heritage, but also the unity that that shared heritage brings to the city. Irish dancing first brought the city together years ago, and it remains an important part of the culture, said Mary Jo DiSalvo, event marketing administrator for Dublin.
Bruce Hanners, a sculptor and employee of Columbus College of Art and Design, created similar skeleton puppets for HighBall Halloween in Columbus. DiSalvo said she and other city employees saw them and knew they had to have them for Dublin, but in the form of Irish dancers. They reached out to Hanners and he crafted them.
“The helium balloons set us apart, but Irish dance is a part of the fabric of Dublin,” DiSalvo said.
The parade is designed each year to be better than other parades and planners are always trying new things, she said.
“We’re trying to create a family event to remind the world we are Dublin, Ohio,” said Tim Hansley, the Grand Leprechaun of this year’s parade. “We wanted to be a city people look to for great ideas. ... We want to make it a special place. More than a city, a community.”
The extravagance of it all excited Wendy Pilcher of Marysville. Involved in the parade for the first time, she was charged with anchoring the ropes of a shamrock balloon, a bright green cowboy hat with furry green trim perched on her head.
“I’m really excited about how much everyone is getting into the spirit of it,” Pilcher said. “This is great. It’s a lot of fun. I’ve never done anything like this before, I’ve never seen a parade like this before.”