History
The St. Patrick's Day Festival started on
March 11, 1988, when a group of far-sighted
individuals thought that it was time to give the
Canadians even MORE of a reason to come to
North Myrtle Beach during the week long Can-Am
Celebration. The first Festival was spearheaded
by Ben Scalia and other community members. It
was staged at North Myrtle Beach's Surfwood
Shopping Center until 1992 when it was moved
to Ocean Boulevard and Main Street due to its popularity and size.
1996 marked the first year a woman, Emily
Stephens, was the Grand Marshal for the St.
Patrick's Day Parade. Her family owns the
Blockade Runner Motel and she is quite active in
the community and gardening. Also, it was the
first appearance of Rep. Mark Sanford, who
pulled a red wagon with his two boys while Mrs.
Sanford carried the baby, the youngest member of
the parade. Mark was honored for his support of
the Grand Strand by being our Grand Marshal in
2000.
1997 was the year Matt Sedota, manager of Easy
105.9 FM, was recognized for his continued
contributions to the community. His radio
station at that time was directly off Main Street.
This was also the first time Time-Warner
televised the parade to an ever growing
audience.
1998 Julia Hussey, another Main Street emporium,
was Grand Marshal. Her husband was one of NMB's
first business owners and together they helped
develop golf along the Grand Strand.
She particularly focused on women golfers.
1999 saw Charlie Byers, as Grand Marshal. He is
a past mayor of North Myrtle Beach and a real
estate developer in the Windy Hills His
contributions to the growing community
were honored.
In 2001, the Festival committee honored one of
our own, Leonard Franz, who was the parade
chairperson almost since the festival began and
was unable to participate in that capacity this
year. He was a business owner, and very active
on the Accommodations Tax Committee for several
years.
2002 saw Greg Hembree, the Horry County
Solicitor, lead the parade. He was very active
in the North Myrtle Beach Legal Department prior
to his election as solicitor.
Phil
Tilghman became the 2003 Grand Marshal.
Phil served as mayor and on the council for over
21 years. He is still influencing the development of not only the Grand Strand, but
also the entire state.
2008 was the beginning of collaboration between the St. Patrick’s Day Committee and the City of North Myrtle Beach Parks and Recreation Department. The St. Patrick’s Day Committee’s hard work throughout the years created an event that draws over 30,000 to the Grand Strand area and the City of North Myrtle Beach was honored to assume the responsibility.
Over the last 19 years the parade and festival
has attracted many bands, floats, marching
units, community groups and service
organizations. Last year it provided food,
entertainment and arts and crafts for over
30,000 attendees. It has become one of the
highlights of Can-Am week activities along the
Grand Strand. It is held the closest Saturday
to March 17th as a fun event for locals and
visitors alike.
Come Join Us for Our 20th Annual Event!
March 14th, 2009
Opportunities to participate in the festival as
a sponsor, crafter, food vendor, entertainment
for adults and/or children, or participate in
the parade are available! Check out the
application section
Need a place to stay? Want to know where else to
go?
Check out two of our Grand Strand Chamber of
Commerce web sites at
http://www.myrtlebeachinfo.com/
and
http://www.northmyrtlebeachchamber.com/
For additional
festival information,
email us
stpatnmb@nmb.us
or call
843-280-5570.
Please leave your name, address, and an
evening phone number for a reply.
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