WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — Decked out in green, white, and orange, people flooded the streets of downtown Wilkes-barre to celebrate all things Irish ahead of St. Patrick's Day.
"We'll we are Irish, so we are going to go all out today, and we come to the parade to celebrate," said Delaney Dukes, Hanover Township.
"We'll I'm part Irish, so as you all know, everyone is part Irish anyway on St. Patrick's Day, but I've always loved the parades," added Lori Rittenhouse of Edwardsville.
It's the 43rd annual St. Patrick's Parade put on by the city of Wilkes-Barre, bringing out the crowd to see all of the colorful sights and classic sounds making their way down South Main Street and around Public Square.
The talk of the town this year is the addition of five new giant balloons. They need a lot of hands to carry them through the parade route.
"We got told last night that they needed guys to carry the frog, so I said yeah, of course, I'll do it. I didn't know I'd be actually carrying it until I got here. It's such a cool experience, though; it's awesome," said Joseph of Exeter.
Parade-goers say they wouldn't miss a parade day.
"I'm originally from Scranton, but I just moved here last year, so this is our first Wilkes-Barre parade. It's a little bit smaller, but I've heard it's supposed to be good, so we gotta give it a try," said Andrea Wharton of Wilkes-Barre Township.
"Seeing the different floats and the things they come up with and seeing the children all dressed up in the bands, hearing the music, I like everything," Rittenhouse said.
"Just the atmosphere and getting out and getting things back from COVID. It's pretty exciting to see people getting together again," said Stephen Prokop of Glen Lyon.
"I just love all of the people, I love all of the candy, I like the music, I love the bagpipers, I just love it all, I guess," added Dukes.
About 100 community groups with more than 2,000 participants walked the parade route.
There’s a wonderful place that you really should see called The Land of Hatchy Milatchy.