BRAY

BRAY'S St. Patrick's Festival was officially launched in The Mermaid Arts Theatre last weekend and organisers have announced that this year will be the longest running to date with nine days of family fun and activities.

This year's festival sees the return of the funfair lining Bray Seafront, other activities for all ages include Céilí Mór, Treasure Hunts, Music Trails, Quizzes and much more.

The highlight of this year's festival will be the parade, with huge numbers of participating groups including the local Bray Lions Club, Bray Lakers and Bray Comhaltas who will contribute to make this the largest parade Bray has ever seen .

There will also be a street spectacular brought to you by Mermaid Arts and Sheevawn Musical Group in conjunction with Artastic, the theme this year will be 'Age of Aquarius', and the pageant will be exploding with bright colours from the flower power years. It was also announced that the people of Bray have voted for Veronica O'Leary to be this year's Grand Marshal.

Veronica set up The Bray Cancer Support Centre in Bray in 1989 after her own battle with cancer. The centre provides emotional support to people touched by cancer in the Bray, South Dublin and Leinster areas free of charge. Veronica O'Leary helps thousands of people every year and for that the community of Bray have come together and voted for her to be honoured on St. Patrick's Day in the Parade.

Organisers of this year's festival have put a strong emphasis on the Main Street retail area and have announced details of the new pre-parade party. This new addition to the festival starts at 1 p.m. on St. Patrick's Day at the Civic Centre and will include plenty of live traditional entertainment.

Full details of the Festival are available on www. stpatricksfestivalbray.com.

RATHDRUM

SO FAR, SO Good for the organisers of the Rathdrum St. Patrick's Day Parade as local traders have responded generously.

As per usual the parade starts at 12 noon from the Fairgreen, winds its way through town past the viewing stand at the square and continues on its way down the Main Street.

At this stage the organising committee are still receiving calls from different groups and organisations interested in taking part or entering a float. The committee expect a nice mixture of walking groups, vintage cars, local sports clubs, organisations and the scouts.

CARNEW

WICKLOW

PREPARATIONS for Wicklow's St. Patrick's Day Parade are in place for what is gearing up to be quite the spectacle.

Local schools and sporting organisations have approached the organising committee about entering floats in the parade, and there is still plenty of room for any other interested parties. Business flats are welcome as well. Last year proved to be one of the most successful parades in living memory, drawing huge crowds lining Wicklow's streets. Organisers this year will be praying for similar bright, sunny day.

The Parnell Memorial Pipe Band, Arklow Pipe Band and the Arklow Youth Marching Band will also all take part. The honour of leading the parade as Grand Marshall goes to Jackie Nolan, who lives at lower Main Street. A well known character locally, Jackie has assisted numerous organisations and groups in Rathdrum down through the years and has been a tireless fundraiser during that time too.

The winning floats in each of the ten categories will receive a trophy. THE SCENE is set for Carnew's St. Patrick's Day Parade on Wednesday, March 17 next.

Proceedings kick off at 2 p.m. with the parade starting from the Aughrim Road, and finishing at Carnew Mart.

Entrants will be asked to be in position early on the day and anyone who hasn't yet filled out an application form, is asked to please do so now.

Application forms must be in for Wednesday, March 10. They are available from Classic Cut, Shelaine's, Expressions, and Candy's.

Please note, diversions will be in place on the day. Prizes will be awarded on the day for Best Float, Best Novelty, Best Dressed Spectator, Best Dressed Toddler, and Best Dressed St Patrick. Enquiries can be made to (087) 2917698.

The parade awards include a first prize sponsored by Tesco for the overall winner. Wicklow Town Council sponsor the best nautical float prize, Conway Media Group the best club entry and Ulster Bank the most original theme float.

Burke Oil sponsor the best marching band and the award for best traditional theme is sponsored by E.B.S.. The best window display is sponsored by Wicklow Credit Union.

Both the Rathdrum Pipe Band and the St. Patrick's Pipe Band will once again be involved. The parade starts from Whitegates at 3.15 p.m. and finishes at Market Square.

To register to take part in the parade ring (0404) 62292.

ARKLOW

NEXT WEEK will see Arklow Town come to life with a top class St. Patrick's Day Parade for all to enjoy.

This year's event is set to be one to remember with a large number of categories open to groups and organisations with many prizes to be presented to respective winners.

Organising Committee members are delighted to announce that Mr. Joe Ryan will lead the parade as Grand Marshal. Mr. Ryan is a well known member of the Arklow community who has been involved in many volunteer bodies over the years.

Deputy Head of Mission at the Polish Embassy in Dublin Mr. Mariusz Blachowicz will also pay a visit to Arklow for the parade.

On March 17 Marching Groups will assemble on Mellows Avenue from 2.30p.m. and Floats/Displays will gather at Yellow Lane from 2.15p.m. The Parade will kick off at 3p.m.and will follow a route through Mellows Avenue, Navvy Hill, Abbey Street, Hudson's Square and Main Street down to the viewing platform at the old Town Hall building at Parade Ground.

There is no entry fee but participants are asked to make a donation to cover running costs where possible.

NEWTOWN

ST. PATRICK'S DAY is just around the corner and the clubs, associations, businesses and residents of Newtownmountkennedy have been preparing for weeks for the annual parade.

The event will kick off on Wednesday March 17 at 11.30. The traditional parade route stretches from Gregory's Garage all the way to the post office and back again to the reviewing platform at the Town House.

The usual massive effort to get lorries and trailers decorated and painted is set to be even bigger this year.