Every year, one of the bigger deals in Louisville is the weekend before, or on, St. Patrick’s Day. With the profusion of Irish-themed restaurants along Baxter Avenue, having a parade in conjunction with St. Paddy’s is one of the no-brainers of the city.
The best part about the celebration is that it’s organic. It’s not organized by city or state officials. The Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Highlands Neighborhood conduct the parade on Baxter Avenue and Bardstown Road, arguably the most bohemian of areas in the city.
So London, Misty and I traveled down and fought the crowds and traffic to first take in lunch at Wick’s Pizza. No, it’s not an Irish pub, but the Wick’s in our area closed years ago and it’s authentic Louisville style pizza. Except we got sandwiches and spaghetti. The place was so crowded and the wait for food was so long that we got what we could all consume in one sitting rather than a pizza that would require us to carry leftovers through the whole parade. Turns out, that was the smart decision. The food was good, I had the Hot Sicilian, and we got to see part of the parade from inside.
My daughter Talia even saw us briefly. She’d just flown in from college in Arizona and took away some partying with friends time to hug her old man. That felt good.
Once we left Wick’s, we walked Baxter Avenue and ran into friends like Tanya, whom I hadn’t seen in forever. I met her through Misty so to see them get a chance to catch up was rewarding all by itself.
Once we got to Flanigan’s Pub, we ran into Tabitha and her family, including one-year-old Ari who I had the pleasure of working with just a few weeks ago for her birthday smash cake session. Would she remember me? Well, the way we got to playing and hugging her stuffed duck, I think she probably did.
Overall, a good day for the family and a great time if you’re a Louisvillian. I snapped a few shots that you can see below.
Girton Images 