Parade Combines Irish, Old West

Folks from across the local area ventured to downtown Fort Smith Saturday afternoon to enjoy the festivities of the St. Patrick's Day Parade.

A procession that included young, traditional Irish dancers, bag pipers and an Old West gunfight between legendary law officers and bank robbers marched down Garrison Avenue during the St. Patrick's Day Parade to the delight of scores of families in attendance.

"The crowd was one of the best crowds we've ever had for the St. Patrick's Day Parade," said Jayne Hughes, downtown development coordinator for the city of Fort Smith. "A lot of people showed up."

Hughes did not yet have specific figures on the number of those in attendance at the parade or how many groups performed or participated, but said that the turnout far exceeded that of previous St. Patrick's Day parades.

The procession started off with a bang when a group of Old West bandits emerged from Arvest Bank. The four bandits were met by seven legendary officers of the law, including Wild Bill Hickok, played by Michael Griffith, and F.M. Miller, the first female deputy U.S. Marshal of Indian Territory, played by Karen Ridgway. Spurs jangled and gunshots fired from prop guns as the lawmen shot down the armed robbers.

"I'm one of the lawmen trying to stop these robbers from coming out of the bank," Griffith said. "I've been doing this for two to three years now."

The performers who participated in the gunfight are members of Lawbreakers and Peacemakers, a nonprofit group dedicated to preserving the spirit of the Old West through re-enactments.

In attendance at the parade was the Ahlert family, Greg, Tracy and children Rin and Lillie. The Ahlerts have been attending the parade for several years, and Rin was a part of the parade four years ago when he was a baby being pushed down Garrison Avenue in a stroller.

The Ahlerts said Rin and Lillie enjoy all the parades held on Garrison Avenue and particularly enjoy the candy and other goodies that performers and parade participants toss their way.

Also performing in the parade were the McCafferty Irish Dancers and the Ozark Highlanders, a Fayetteville-based bagpipe and drums group.

Making their debut performance at the parade were the Fort Smith Firefighters Pipe and Drum Corps, members of which had been learning to play the bagpipes and drums from members of the Ozark Highlanders.

"Pipers are synonymous with fire departments, so we decided to form a pipe band," Capt. Tery Graves of the Fort Smith Fire Department said.

Graves said he and fellow members of the Pipe and Drum Corps were nervous at the start of the performance.

"We were shaky at the beginning, but halfway through, we found our stride," he said.