BUFFALO, N.Y. — There was a sea of green along Delaware Avenue on Sunday, as people flocked downtown for the St. Patrick's Day parade.
The sounds of bagpipes and heel clicks rang through the streets, as Western New Yorkers looked on at the parade that featured Gov. Kathy Hochul, high school marching bands, and even Bills Elvis.
All in attendance had the same goal of celebrating the fifth-largest Irish community in the country that dates back 200 years.
“The Irish came here to help build the canal, and they stayed, and they fed people down at the grain elevators,” said Jim Wannemacher, the parade’s Grand Marshal. “They work hard, tirelessly, still, and it's noted by everybody. That's the reason we're all here.”
While Sunday was about the Irish and their footprint here in Buffalo, the city didn’t lose sight of honoring its American hero, fallen Engine 2 firefighter Jason Arno, and the imprint he left behind, as the parade featured a banner that read: “Firefighter Jason Arno a man for others.”
The city, for the first time in a long time, had something to celebrate and used this opportunity to once again come together, this time for a much-needed joyous occasion.
That was a sentiment shared by Mayor Byron Brown.
"It is an opportunity for Buffalo to have a chance to celebrate. With the pandemic, and so many of the challenges that the city has dealt with, people want to have a good time, they want to be together, and this parade provides that kind of opportunity," Mayor Brown said.
Sunday's parade showcased Buffalo's rich Irish history, from bagpipers to dancers, some of whom have participated in this annual parade for nearly 40 years.
The event’s organizers said it took nearly four months of planning.