KSHB 41 News reporter Braden Bates covers parts of Jackson County, Missouri, including Lee's Summit. Send Braden a story idea by e-mail.
A few extra layers and some Irish courage helped revelers enjoy Sunday's St. Patrick's Parade in Shawnee despite dropping temperatures and gusty winds.
This year's theme was "Irish You Were Here."
The event, now entering its 42nd year, usually starts with the Shamrock O'Market featuring local vendors. This year, the organizers decided to cancel that portion due to the winds.
"The high winds were definitely a concern for us people who bring out these tents, we’re on an asphalt parking lot, and there’s nowhere to stake them down," Parade Grand Marshal Royal Kreuger said. "And even the weights that come with those tents, it’s not enough for these kinds of winds."
Irish American Club President Maureen Kronawitter said sometimes you have to let things go.
"What can you do? Mother nature, she doesn’t listen to anybody, she does what she wants," Kronawitter said.
But the team wasn't willing to let the parade go.
Eric Reyes and his family didn’t realize how special this event would become when they first came four years ago.
"Now it’s a tradition for us to come with everybody, the whole family," Reyes said about going to the parade with his daughter. "Come here and she’s always spending the whole year asking for this parade."
So the bundled-up Reyes family watched the parade in the front row.
Krueger, the grand marshal, wasn't willing to let down those who worked hard to put on this parade.
"I got a big job today, I hope I don’t lose my tiara," Krueger said.
She said she practiced her royal wave and vowed that if no one showed up, she'd still put on a show.
Luckily, her Shawnee neighbors bundled up and turned out alongside her.
