Carmangay St. Patrick’s Day parade pays homage to community

By Lethbridge Herald on March 17, 2023.

Bow River MP Martin Shields, County councillor Laurie Lyckman and mayor Kim Nichols lead the “World’s Shortest Parade” on its one-block trek as part of the traditional St. Patrick’s Day celebration Friday in Carmangay. Herald photo by Ry Clarke

Ry Clarke – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

It’s a tradition based on camaraderie, and it doesn’t take a lot of time out of the day to complete.

 The Village of Carmangay celebrated its annual St. Patrick’s Day parade Friday, gathering at the village post office to make the one-block-long trek in what is called the world’s shortest parade. Carmangay’s St. Patrick’s Day parade doesn’t last long, but it brings the community together for a celebration nonetheless. 

Starting back in the 1980s, the parade began when Jim O’Connor, then owner of the historic Grange Hotel, which burned down in March of 2021, went down the block to the post office to pick up his mail, inviting his friend George Johnson to come to the bar for a green beer to celebrate the holiday. 

The pair called their short walk a parade, and since then the tradition has lived on in the village. 

“It is so much fun to host this annually. It has been going on for 39 years and I have been to over 20 of them,” said mayor Kym Nichols. “It’s easy and it’s fun. People look forward to it, and everybody works together to pull it off. It is the most unorganized fun event.”

Following tradition, the parade marched from the post office to the spot where the Grange Hotel once stood, toasting a salute to its memory following the reading of a St. Patrick’s Day poem. Afterwards, everyone gathered at the Carmangay Community Centre for stew and Irish jingles. This was the parade’s second year of marching since the Grange burned down, holding strong the memory of those who have marched before. 

“Last year was tough,” said Nichols. “The community decided, let’s do this, and it was kind of a healing process. It shows the resilience of Carmangay, and we just changed the venue, but still remember the past.”

Lynn Johnson came all the way from Vulcan to march in the parade, a tradition she has been doing for many years.

“I come back because I’m celebrating the Irish, it is a wonderful country,” said Johnson.

 “I’ve been coming here since, I think, 2015 for the parade. This is a wonderful place, you come here and it’s family. I’m far from my family – most of my family is in Ontario – people here are so friendly. I don’t know how many hugs I got today going ‘Oh Lynn, you’re here!’ which is just lovely.”

Parade rookie Brooke Vance brought her family with her, to create new traditions for future celebrations. 

“Today is a PD Day for the kids,so I thought I might as well get them dressed up and take in a little green beer and some fun,” said Vance.

“I think it’s really awesome. Most people probably don’t even know where Carmangay is. But for us, it’s always a nice hometown. I feel like all of us in hometowns are close, we should continue to try and grow the fun with our families.”

Gathering community together for a brisk walk, and plenty of spirits. The St. Patrick’s Day parade may have only lasted a couple of minutes, but its legacy will continue with tradition. 

“I think it should continue and the kids can hopefully can pass that down,” said Vance. “The goal at then end of it was the stew, bun, cupcakes, and running around and seeing everybody in the community.”