Yulan to hold 36th St. Patrick’s Day parade

By TOM KANE

YULAN, NY - For the 36th time, the parade to honor St. Patrick will roll through the hamlet of Yulan. This year, the parade will be held on Sunday, March 11.

“On that day, everyone in Yulan is an Irishman,” said Kathleen Sweeney, one of the parade’s organizers.

The pre-parade festivities take place from 12:00 noon to 1:00 at the four corners¾the intersection of Airport Road and County Road 33.

“There will be some bagpipers there, as well as some singers of Irish songs,” Sweeney said. Among the singers will be Katie Hanson, Sean Bailey and others.

“We’re going to hear a lot of wonderful Irish music as we do each year,” she said. “We’re also expecting a number of floats,” Sweeney said. “We won’t know who until they appear.”

The parade itself steps off at 1:00 p.m., and travels west on Airport Road to the four corners intersection and turns right, heading for the ballpark.

“We can’t use the field since there is so much snow there,” Sweeney said.

The two grand marshals of the parade are Jim Hanson, a long-time resident, and Elise Bouloukos, the owner of the Barryville Hotel, who will be an honorary member of the Irish clan for that day.

Marching in the parade will be the Emerald Society’s Pipe Band from the New York State Department of Corrections, the Broom Street Traveling All-Stars from Port Jervis and the Maple City Fife and Drum Corps from Honesdale, PA.

Judges will be on hand at the four corners to select the winners in a number of parade categories. The best over-all float will be selected, then the second best, the most original float, the best fire apparatus, and the first and second best marching band. For more on St. Patrick’s Day festivities, see page 27.