By Kate Lohnes

Even with traditionally chilly March temperatures, the elements never keep Dublin residents from celebrating their city’s Irish-ness.

Every year, thousands of people gather in Dublin for the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Part of a full day’s worth of activities, the parade has never failed to attract people since 1981, says parade manager and city administrator Buddy Caplinger. Last year it featured nearly 130 units on its mile-long route, and about 19,000 people came to watch.

“Each year it has grown a little more and more,” Caplinger says. “It’s the big kick-off event for the year, and it’s one of the biggest, grandest parades in Central Ohio.”

The St. Patrick’s Day Parade features many participants, from marching bands to homemade units. Many say the fun they have and the crowd’s excitement brings them back every year.

The Dublin Dance Center and Gymnastics has a regular presence in the parade, says Kate Cosgrove, operations manager for the center. The center has brought a dance troupe and stilt-walkers to the parade for the past five years.

Cosgrove says the dancers – about 45 students – begin preparing weeks before the parade date. Their march requires moves and choreography you wouldn’t see onstage, she says. The students also practice marching in center’s parking lot.

The stilt-walking group includes an instructor and five or six students, some of whom began stilting at age 12 and 13. Because the dance center does not use stilting regularly, Cosgrove says the parade is extra-special to the stilters.

“The parade is one of the stilters’ main performances,” she says. “They always get a lot of applause from the crowd, and they get a lot of people shouting about how tall they are. It’s neat.”

For 14-year-old Kathryn Fabiano, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade is her favorite part of the year. The Dublin resident and Dublin Coffman freshman has stilted in the parade twice, and she says she relishes every minute.

“I like seeing the children’s faces,” she says. “I know that sounds corny, but they are always so amazed. I love watching how people react, and how the energy bounces off of them onto us. It’s a great experience.”

Fabiano says getting ready for the parade requires plenty of preparation.

“We learn a little bit of choreography and we do what we think we can do depending on the weather,” she says. “We’re also doing other things and we work off what the people in the streets are going to do. It’s more fun, and there’s more freedom to do what you want.”

A home-grown feature in the parade is the “Blarney Bug,” a green Volkswagen dressed in a top hat, bow tie and a pipe. The car and its decorations come from 28-year-old Andrew Wahlenmaier and his family.

Wahlenmaier first entered the Volkswagen in the parade in 1999. His brother Dan (whose birthday is March 17) came up with the idea in 1998. Andrew Wahlenmaier, who lives in Gahanna, says bringing the Blarney Bug to Dublin felt right.

“That’s the only (parade) we do,” he says. “I really can’t imagine going to a different parade. My Dad grew up in Dublin and we have family ties there, so that’s naturally where we wanted to be. It’s a fun town, and it’s a lot of fun driving through the parade. We really enjoy it.”

The Blarney Bug’s décor has evolved over the years, Wahlenmaier says; he and his family have adapted the decorations to make them more durable and practical.

“In the beginning, we used a cardboard box to make an oversized top hat,” he says. “A friend and I used plumbing pipes to make the pipe that sticks out the front of the car. It looked like a bunch of college guys threw it together. We’ve had years where the eyeballs have blown away off the windshield, or the signs that we used to put on the doors would freeze and fall off every now and then. We try to look at what happened last year for what we need to improve this year.”

The Blarney Bug continues to be a group project the Wahlenmaier family. While Andrew Wahlenmaier drives the car, his brothers distribute candy. His parents also assist: his mother sewed fabric for the top hat and his dad helps with mechanical issues, such as creating the pipe with a fog machine.

Wahlenmaier says he and his family have appeared in eight of the past 10 St. Patrick’s Day parades, and they have no plans to stop.

“It’s a really great family activity, and a great way to spend a Saturday every March,” he says.

Fabiano agrees the parade experience is nothing but positive.

“It’s so fun and energetic, and everybody is so happy to be there,” she says. “It’s a great cultural experience for Ohio and for Dublin.”

Kate Lohnes is assistant editor of Dublin Life.


The parade is just one of several events happening on March 14. Check out these events before and after the parade:

The Dublin Lion’s Club Pancake Breakfast
7-11 a.m., john Sells Middle School, 150 W. Bridge St.
This annual breakfast features all the pancakes and sausage you can eat – complete with green syrup – for one price at the door ($6 for adults, $4 for children 11 years old and younger). For more information, call 614-888-8773.

The Blarney Hop at River Ridge
1-5 p.m., The Shoppes at River Ridge, Leo Alfred Jewelers, Oakland Nursery and more
Enjoy a festival-like atmosphere at the Hop’s many venues. Kids can check out inflatable attractions, crafts, a gem dig at Leo Alfred Jewelers and potato potting at Oakland Nursery. Adults can watch live entertainment as well as buy raffle tickets for cool prizes. Admission is free. For more information, visit www.relayforlife.org/dublin.