DETROIT – A lot of people have been waiting for this parade
“We haven’t had this in two years. It’s just a great tradition down here. Everyone loves coming down here for this,” said parade goer Todd Doughty.
For the first time in two years, the streets of Corktown are lined with hundreds of people for Detroit’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade. It was a very first experience for Doughty’s goddaughter.
“She’s never been able to come to this because of COVID, and this is her first big parade day. We were looking forward to this for quite a while,” said Doughty.
A countless number of people covered the streets, getting a first hand view of this year’s celebration in the snow.
“Feels so good, definitely over COVID. It feels so good to be out here without a mask on, for sure. We’re coming rain or shine, snow - whatever,” said parade goer Makenzie Miller.
At the same time, the anticipation from businesses was just as strong.
“We haven’t had a parade day in so long and it’s missed. It’s been very missed, especially in this area. So we were really happy that we were able to get it going again,” said Michael Ritcey. He’s the General Manager of Mercury Burger Bar in Corktown.
Mercury Burger Bar were among the many bars and restaurants in Corktown deeply impacted by the parade’s absence. Ritcey is just glad the tradition is back in session.
“It’s awesome. It’s a little bit of a slower start because of the weather. The snow was a little unexpected, but the sun’s out now and we’ve had a great time with it. We’re just happy to have that business back,” said Ritcey.
A little bit of snow didn’t stop people from coming out to celebrate.
“We had a line out the door before we opened up the building, so we had it wrapped all the way around, just waiting for us to go. So, it was awesome. A lot of turn out. Lots of happy people. We had a good day with it,” said Ritcey.