This St. Patty’s parade is twice the states, twice the fun

The Mississippi River won’t be dyed green like they do in Chicago, but the waterway will have hundreds of green-clad revelers walking across it today as part of the nation’s only bi-state Saint Patrick’s Day parade. John Scally is helping organize the feat, for the 18th year, bridging Illinois and Iowa with the Irish event. Scally says bag pipers, marching bands, green-laced floats and plenty of gleeful folks of Irish descent will comprise the long line. Scally says there’ll be about 80 entries in the parade and 40 or so have had to be turned away because they’re limited by how long the Centennial Bridge can be tied up, the main thoroughfare between Rock Island, Illinois, and Davenport, Iowa. Scally says the celebration will run all weekend long. On Sunday, there’s an Irish Heritage Festival in Davenport that usually draws about a thousand people for food, drink, culture, dancing, traditional music and other entertainment. Many Iowa communities are having St. Pat’s parades and festivities this weekend, including, Waukee, Des Moines, Dyersville and Emmetsburg.