In Kansas City, a festive but cautious St. Patrick’s Day parade
Irish dancers, Gaelic football players, green everything: Thousands of spectators gathered for the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Kansas City, Missouri, on Sunday, the first citywide parade since a deadly shooting last month brought the Super Bowl -celebration of the city in turmoil.
The St. Patrick’s Day parade, the city’s 50th this year, is considered one of the largest in the country, with crowds reportedly reaching hundreds of thousands of people. On Sunday, a sizable – but significantly smaller – crowd came together sporting green beanies, vests, cowboy hats and sweatshirts, even in high winds and cold temperatures.
The parade featured members of the Gaelic Athletic Club demonstrating their hurling skills, bagpipers, antique fire engines and lots of green items including cotton candy, checked hats and cuddly toys. There was a booth with T-shirts that read “Kansas City has our own St. Patrick,” with a photo of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes — who at one point was nearly blown away by the fierce wind.
But the festivities were not without the somber reminder of a shooting during the Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade on Feb. 14 that left one dead and 22 injured, sending the community into turmoil. Two men, Lyndell Mays, 23, and Dominic Miller, 18, were charged with murder in connection with the shooting, and two teenagers were charged with resisting arrest and “weapons-related” crimes.
Still, many on Sunday were determined not to let last month’s tragedy disrupt a cherished tradition.
“I don’t live my life in fear,” said Tiffany Hermann, 40, at the parade, who also attended the Super Bowl celebration. “I’m going to enjoy my life to the fullest.”
According to Sgt. Phil DiMartino of the Kansas City Police Department. He added that the number of officers had increased by about 10 percent from the previous year. Several police cars lined the parade route.
Whether it was wariness about last month’s shooting, or the colder weather, or some other reason, the turnout for Sunday’s parade seemed much smaller than in previous years. Some spectators noticed that there were significantly fewer people this year.
“Normally you have to see through people. You will never find an area like this where there is a big gap between people and no one standing in front of you,” said Sadie Sanchez, 60, engineering manager.
Ms. Sanchez’s daughter, Cherri Sanchez, a 36-year-old paramedic, said her brother decided not to come after being at the scene of the shooting. “He’s still a little traumatized.”
A group of friends who attended the Chiefs parade said they felt safer coming to Sunday’s event because the crowd was smaller. Sarah Jones, 23, a copywriter, still felt uncomfortable but eventually decided to attend.
“I just don’t want people to think about Kansas City and think about” the shooting, Ms. Jones said, adding, “There’s so much more here that’s special.”
For some, the cheerful and healthy atmosphere was enough to come and celebrate, despite the recent shooting.
“When the city comes together, it’s nothing but fun, love and friendship. It’s family,” said Autum Diggs, 28, who works in sales and as a medical assistant. She added: “I’m not going to let one bad apple spoil it all for us.”
A little girl in a green hat danced to a marching band that made its way through the parade. Even as her family left the parade ground, she continued to dance as the music faded.