HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK, AR--(Marketwired - Feb 3, 2015) - The 2015 World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade will host a variety of celebrities and special guests for the parade and after-party in downtown Hot Springs on March 17.
This year's Celebrity Grand Marshal is world-renowned NASCAR driver and Arkansas native Mark Martin. "We have wanted to have Mark Martin, one of Arkansas's most beloved citizens, be our celebrity grand marshal for a long time," said Steve Arrison, CEO of Visit Hot Springs, the city's convention and visitors bureau. "We lucked out this year and found him with some time available to be our guest."
The post-parade concert will feature The Swon Brothers, a country music troupe that rose to stardom on NBC's The Voice. Parade mascot Lucky the Leprechaun will be spreading cheer and a quartet of Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders will grace the parade with dazzling dance moves.
The Parade begins at 6:30 after the ceremonial measuring of the parade route. This year, the parade will include The World's Largest Leprechaun, Irish Elvis impersonators, belly dancers, green Irish wolfhounds, and bagpipe players, along with a procession of wacky floats, motorcycles and classic cars. The parade will proceed down Bridge Street, the world's shortest street at only 98 feet long. The free post-parade concert begins at 7 p.m. with the Swon Brothers on the Bridge Street stage.
In addition to the parade, the event features St. Patrick's Day traditions such as the annual "Romancing the Stone" contest, offering a cash prize to whoever plants the best kiss on the Blarney Stone.
The first World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade was held on March 17, 2004 after Hot Spring locals decided that a St. Patrick's Day parade would be perfect way to attract visitors to Hot Spring's Bridge Street, the World's Shortest Street in Everyday Use. The first parade attracted a few thousand people, and since then the parade has become one of the most popular St. Patrick's Day traditions in Arkansas, drawing more than 30,000 people each year.
The parade is sponsored by Visit Hot Springs and is governed by a volunteer board of various Hot Springs business owners and community leaders. For more information, visit www.shorteststpats.com.
