Valinoti, Schweikhart named king, queen of St. Patrick’s Day parade
The owners of two trendy restaurants that have garnered national attention in recent years have been named the king and queen of the First Ever 15th Annual World’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade, according to Visit Hot Springs, the parade’s sponsor.
The parade king is Anthony Valinoti, who owns Deluca’s Pizzeria Napoletana, while parade Queen Rose Schweikhart developed and runs Superior Bathhouse Brewery on Bathhouse Row in Hot Springs National Park.
“We couldn’t have found two people more in tune with the atmosphere of wacky good fun surrounding our great little parade than Tony and Rose,” Steve Arrison, CEO of Visit Hot Springs and one of the parade’s creators, said in a news release.
“Not only have their establishments brought nationwide favorable attention to Hot Springs, but Tony and Rose also fully understand how this event has grown to bring international media applause for our city,” Arrison said.
Valinoti, “as famous for his good humor as his pizzas,” jokingly says being named parade king is the “greatest honor of my life, but it certainly blows up the (federal) witness protection program thing for me. I may have to move after this. “
Valinoti is no stranger to the quirky parade. For the past three years, he has been one of the members of the International Order of Irish Elvi Elvis impersonators, thanks to Elvi founders Scott McClard and Dr. Randy Hill.
“I wish I could pinpoint one single favorite moment, but there certainly is a lot of drinking involved in this event, so it’s all a little hazy. People tell me I had a wonderful time,” Valinoti said in the release.
“The parade itself is the greatest day in our wonderful city,” Valinoti said. “There is nothing like it anywhere, I’ve lived in New York, Las Vegas and Miami, and nobody puts on a show like this.”
This year’s parade will feature free concerts by Grand Funk Railroad and Morris Day and The Time, appearances by the Dallas
Cowboys Cheerleaders, Joey Fatone as the celebrity grand marshal, and “Napoleon Dynamite” star Jon Heder as the official parade starter.
A year ago, First We Feast, an online magazine and blog focused on food, drink, and pop culture, named DeLuca’s, located at 407 Park Ave., as the best pizza in Arkansas as part of an article “The United States of Pizza” which identified the best pizza in each of the 50 states.
Schweikhart said in the release that her most memorable moment associated with the parade was the year she hosted a parade party on top of one of the downtown rooftops, “complete with Irish Stout on tap.”
The city’s “vibrant arts community” is what brought Schweikhart to Hot Springs in 2011, the release said.
“Now I am proud to own the Superior Bathhouse Brewery, where we make beer with our famous thermal spring water. The luck of the Irish must have brought me here!”
The evening before the parade, on Friday, March 16, Grand Funk Railroad will play a free concert from a stage at the foot of Bridge Street in the Broadway Entertainment District. Food and beverages will be on sale.
The 2018 parade will begin at 7:30 p.m., an hour later than in previous years, because of the running of The Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park, Arrison said.
“The later start will allow Oaklawn fans plenty of time to enjoy the live racing and get downtown for the start of the parade,” he said.
It will be followed immediately by a free public concert by Morris Day and The Time on the Broadway District stage.