Feb. 12, 2014 By Christian Murray
In the 1990s, Brendan Fay attempted to march in the St. Patrick’s Day parade along Fifth Ave. under a gay and lesbian group banner. Fay, who is gay, was greeted to a very cool reception. The police pounced, the handcuffs were slapped on and he got the message: not wanted.
So Fay, along with a number of other members of the LGBT community, established the St. Pat’s Day for All parade in 2000–in Sunnyside.
However, since its founding, the parade has morphed into much more than an Irish and gay festival. Hispanic and black groups now march; children’s groups march; seniors march; and so, too, does the local canine club.
The 15th St. Pat’s Day for All parade is scheduled to take place on Sunday, March 2, at 1:00 pm. More than 1,500 participants are expected to make the walk, which will begin at the corner of 47thStreet and Skillman Ave – and end at 58th Street and Woodside Ave. If the weather is good, Fay said the number of participants could reach 2,000.
“Sunnyside and Woodside should be very proud of the parade, since many people from around the world have got to know the neighborhoods because of it,” Fay said. “The parade still remains the city’s only all inclusive St Patrick’s Day celebration.”
The parade has grown since its inception and has become a big family affair. “Hundreds of children march every year,” said Kathleeen Walsh D’Arcy, who is the co-chair of the parade. This year, she said, more than 150 children who play Gaelic football for Shannon Gaels are expected to participate while many children from scout and youth groups throughout Queens will be marching too, she said.
The parade still maintains its strong Irish roots. This year there will be four pipe bands, dancers from the Niall O’Leary School of Irish Dance, and several traditional Irish musicians from the tri-state area.
The FDNY pipers, which came for the first time last year, will be bringing a larger contingent this year as well as a vintage engine.
There will be giant puppets—with the help of the Puppeteers’ Cooperative in Brooklyn—and the popular stilt walkers who represent Swim Strong, which is a non-profit group that provides swimming lessons at affordable rates.
Fay expects as many as 100 organizations to march—ranging from groups consisting of 2 people to 150 people.
They include:
- The Keltic Dream Irish Dancers, a group of about 35 African-American children (aged 7-12 year) from PS 59 in the Bronx, who have learned Irish dance
- Shannon Gaels
- Girl Scouts of Sunnyside and Woodside
- American Red Cross Youth
- School marching bands
- Sunnyside United Dog Society, whose members walk their dogs in the parade
- Senior citizens, representing Sunnyside Community Services
- Dignity NY
- Queens lesbian and gay pride committee
Local city and state officials have all confirmed that they will be attending, Fay said. So, too, has the public advocate and city comptroller. Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is not going to participate in theFifth Avenue parade due to its exclusion of gay groups, is expected to participate but has not yet confirmed.
Grand Marshals
Fay said former State Sen. Tom Duane and Terry McGovern have been named this year’s grand marshals.
Duanne, a resident of Chelsea, was selected due to his strong commitment to human rights, Fay said.
Duane, who served in the state senate from 1999 to 2012, first introduced New York’s Marriage Equality Act in 2001 and championed other pieces of legislation protecting the LGBT community.
Meanwhile, McGovern founded the HIV Law Project in 1989, where she served as its executive director until 1999, and is now a professor of public health at Columbia University.
Funding
Fay said that parade organizers have a limited budget and expect the event to cost about $12,000. He said the pipe bands cost anywhere from $1,500 to $3,000 each and then there is the cost of a sound system, renting a truck and distributing posters.
Fay said that Councilmen Daniel Dromm and Jimmy Van Bramer provide some city funding. He said that the group also holds two private fundraisers per year and sells ads in its journal.
Other sources of funding include donations from local businesses.
Not too late to participate
Fay said that there is still plenty of time for groups that are interested in participating in the parade to sign up. He said he wants as many groups as possible to participate– of all backgrounds. “We err on the side of inclusion.”
The Keltic Dream Irish Dancers (Photo: SunnysidePost)
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61 Comments
Can’t wait for the parade! Love the Irish, love the gays…I’ll even love the hipsters that day. It’s a day of community and inclusion…come as you are. Peace Sunnysiders 🙂
The majority of child molesters are not priests! NAMBLA used to participate in the gay pride parade in Manhattan. That should never, ever, have been allowed!
@Oldschool
NAMBLA can’t march in the big Manhattan parade either, priests or not.
Yo! John….Since you brought up NAMBLA…How many Priests are card-carrying members? How many rapes and molestations has the Church covered up? I will bet its a lot more than 316.
Why not let NAMBLA march as well, what about people who are into incest bestiality? They should be able to march under their own banners. Why are they not included in the “for all” parade?
Why can’t people just accept that the NYC St Patrick’s Day parade is not about sexual preference but about honoring St Patrick and our ancestors who came here and helped (in a big way) build this country, alongside so many other nationalities.
Why do they need to carry a banner saying what their sexual preference is, who cares .. Keep it in the bedroom ..
And if you really need to celebrate with banners then in October go down in the village where lots of fun is to be had …
Will Carmen farina of the board of Ed be there? I would like to boo her and deblasio
You’re all free to march in the real parade. Just keep your mouth shut about what turns you on in bed just like the rest of us have to. Should I wave a banner that reads I’m into tall, thin female blondes? Or maybe that I have a big butt Latina fetish? No. Why? Because it has NOTHING to do with the great Irish history of this city.
SUDS proudly marches for the 12th straight year! Kudos to the organizers for putting on such a great event.
it is over a week now when are they going to update Sunnyside Post — gee wiz
I am looking forward for the parade. It never fails to excite me. Party like there’s no end.
Local Sunnyside Irish still mad all the cheap bars are now closed. Keep pretending you are going to heaven while celebrating being drunk assholes. What a bunch of fakes.
@Luvu2 What does “spit on the same potb” mean?
Hahahakehehehe.
Its a colorful parade with dogs
Some people need to try some decaf.
“Tenants” of Catholicism and “room”. Cute word play!
Lol
I am guessing Smitty meant to say tenets of Catholicism…
“Tenants of Roman Catholicism”…..
Is the Vatican opening luxury condos in LIC too?
Super witty spell check
Tenants of Catholicism ? They own apartments Btw lots of teachers want to boo deblasio
Not a stamp of approval but one of tolerance. I do not apporove of some of the tenants of Roman Catholicism, but there’s plenty of room for them in my world.
The real hate is by those who want to force a religious-based organization to give the stamp of approval to a lifestyle that goes against their religious beliefs.
Gay this gay that… Everything is gay gay gay gay gay gay. Enough already!
please correct typo in previous post.
The St. Patrick’s parade in Dublin has included gay groups for years.
I like that some think DiBlasio controls the weather. Hilarious.
The St. Patrick’s parade is Dublin has included gay groups for years.
I like that some think DiBlasio controls the weather. Hilarious.
Tequilla wrote: “Irish people are not racist, homophobic, narrow minded bigots like a few vocal people on this forum.”
No bigots in Ireland? Who were all those people shooting at and blowing each other up all those years over whether they were Protestant or Catholic?
Talk about stereotypes! Sheesh!
This is a great parade! Can’t wait! I am proud to be Irish American, proud to be Catholic, proud to be heterosexual and proud to support my friends in the LGBT community! Sorry if my sentiments conflict with YOUR personal beliefs. I don’t look to or care about judgement from any of you. Only God is my judge. God is love and accepts all!
Go SUDS! The dogs are definitely one of the highlights of the parade! Who doesn’t like seeing man’s best friend dressed up in a little green!?! Looking forward to this parade!
No wonder the president of Ireland refuses to be the grand marshal at the NY St Patrick’s day parade because of the bigoted, racist non-inclusive values perpetrated by some irish americans.
President Higgins is a poet, an intellectual, a liberal who supports gay rights and inclusiveness.
Irish people are not racist, homophobic, narrow minded bigots like a few vocal people on this forum.
Saw enough of deblasio to judge this parade is an insult to the Irish waiting fir mr Novak to jump in with bigot hate yaddyadda
Let’s get this correct peeps. Bloomberg was the worst mayor in history you got balls whoever you think you are saying the new guy in a month is the worst.
Great, the annual freak show is back. Thanks for posting the date. I’ll make sure to be far away from these weirdos and to meet up with some normal people.
Sycamore and Novak spit on the same potb
Celtic park if right and the murder rate is going up under deblasio
who cares, why is this making news?
the Celtic dream dancers appear to not be from ireland, whats with that?
@JOR
Because they don’t give a damn about Saint Patrick or the faith he represents. This is the Gay Pride parade with shamrocks, that’s it.
Back to the parade, why can’t the organizers use the proper name of the great Saint Patrick, and not the cartoon version?
Yaaaaay St. Pat’s for All!!! I love Sunnyside!
Maybe FAY, DROMM or VAN BRAMER can ask DI BLASIO why he is putting IRISH WORKERS out of business in NY,PITY THE HORSES ARE NOT GAY.
I swear, some people toss the word “hate” around like confetti.
It’s impossible to have a reasonable discussion with people who the second you say something they don’t agree with automatically call you a hater, a bigot, racist, sexist, whatever. It’s like a reflexive, involuntary bodily function for them.
Thank you, Celtic Bark: you knocked that one out of the park. Dare to disagree with famous Mike Novak, and look what happens!
@JaneG Are you saying that in about six weeks Mayor DiBlasio has caused people to turn into murderers? I can’t make any sense of your reference.
As for the snowstorms, those are his fault, too?
Mr. Novak may be right, only a badly warped mind comes up with a cause and effect relationship between a change of mayors and an increase in murder and snow. Perhaps it is hate that has destroyed your ability to reason. Perhaps it is something else, but something definitely has warped it.
@Mike Novak
Enough with the hate card already. “Hate” now simply means saying something a liberal doesn’t agree with.
in 1, 2,3….. the dog poop is disgusting damn Hipsters.
Actually, I think I could!
Hey people . . calm down . . there is room for everyone on this earth. Lets live and let live. Why aren’t you in DeBlasio’s place? Can you do better?
Diblasio didn’t send out plows to clean up the streets till the traffic was already dealing with the mess.
he sucks.
Teaching children that homosexuality is perfectly normal behavior…
Jane is right – there have been too many snowstorms under DeBlasio. Bloomberg’s winters were much more mild. If we can’t trust the mayor to control the weather, what can we trust him with?
“St. Patrick’s Day, a day when everyone can be Irish, except the gays and the Italians” – Kent O’Brockman, The Simpson’s
A gross parade waiting for Novak to call me a bad name because I don’t agree with his agenda and deblasio is a socialist cop hater
47rd Street! I’ll be at that very real street March 2th!
I always enjoy the St Pats Parade!
Let’s see: murder rate has increased ALREADY; streets not cleaned and here comes another snowstorm!
From the King of Sunnyside Gardens, Mike Novak! Now he will say, “judge not lest ye be judged”. LOL!
He’s been in office a little over a month Jane whaty is your basisof fact! oh I know you spend your time watching FAUX NEWS and whatever they say is gospel to you got it.
WOW! In office less than two months and you make a declarative statement like that?
Congrats Jane.
You are the first Ignorant Hater in the thread!
@JaneGrissom You seem woefully uninformed. Let’s hear it – make the case for why he’s the worst mayor of all time ever.
Here we go again! It will be a chance to boo Deblasio, worst mayor ever!