BOB AND ROB VALENTI NAMED GRAND MARSHALS OF MYSTIC IRISH PARADE

Mystic — The Mystic Irish Parade Foundation has announced that the grand marshals for the 15th annual parade on March 25 will be Bob Valenti and his son Rob, who own the family of Valenti car dealerships.

In the announcement, parade foundation Vice President Neil Ryan said the Valentis “continuously give back to their local community year after year and it is an honor to have them lead this year’s parade.”

He explained that “regardless of their heritage, the primary prerequisite for leading the parade in this role is honoring, supporting and being a positive, contributing member in the Southeastern Connecticut community.”

The Valenti family opened its first dealership in the 1920s. In 1973, Bob Valenti opened a location in Mystic and Rob Valenti joined the business in 1986. They currently own seven Valenti locations.

The parade, with more than 100 units and 2,200 marchers, will begin at 1 p.m. at Mystic Seaport and continue through downtown Mystic before ending at the Mystic Arts Center.

Other events associated with the parade include the Mystic Irish Parade Dinner on March 9, the 3rd annual Mystic Irish 5K Road Race on March 17 and the annual raffle for a trip to Ireland on April 8. More information about the event is available at mysticirishparade.org.