St. Patrick’s Day celebrations get early start in Healdsburg

A family-friendly event that started in a bar, Healdsburg’s pre-dawn St. Patrick’s Day Parade has become an iconic annual tradition — and this year’s outing was no different.

“I think we did it. I think we woke up some of those hotel guests,” Mayor Ariel Kelley said excitedly after the parade ended Friday morning, referring to the hotels facing Healdsburg Plaza, where the parade had passed just minutes earlier.

Kelley stood alongside the city’s “unofficial” town crier, Kevin Coady, as they stood atop a green cart parked between John & Zeke’s Bar & Grill and Costeaux French Bakery. The parade started at 420 Healdsburg Ave., previously the B&B Lounge, where John & Zeke’s now occupies.

A tradition that’s been going on since at least 1994, the early morning festivities began with the now-closed B&B, organized by the former bar’s owner, Bill Coleman. The popular bar’s role in the yearly gathering has been nothing short of iconic for many longtime residents.

What started off as a group of bargoers who decided to take an early morning stroll nearly 30 years ago from the original B&B location, transformed into a short, but largely beloved parade.

Over the years, a collaborative effort unfolded after B&B moved to a different location and John & Zeke’s took over its old home. Those two spots were favored among visitors who downed a Guinness or Irish coffee before the parade’s start, with many showing up around 6 a.m.

Today, John & Zeke’s is the center for revelry ahead of the 7 a.m. parade start, now that B&B permanently closed. Before 6:30 a.m., the bar looked like a Friday night, with people packed tightly as they sought pints of Guinness and Irish coffees.

Longtime friends and Healdsburg locals Tim Keegan and Nick Barbieri arrived at John & Zeke’s at 6 a.m. Friday to partake in the tradition.

Keegan dressed in a customary Kelly green suit, green top hat — with tubes sticking out like tentacles — and checkered Vans dotted with shamrocks. He’s participated in the parade for the last 24 years, since he was 21 years old, he said.

Of Irish descent, he was “just celebrating the Irish culture” at the morning event — and his birthday, he noted, which was two days earlier.

Barbieri said he was grateful for the continuation of local, community-centered events and loved seeing many familiar faces.

“Especially after the past few years, we haven’t been able to get close like this. I think it’s more meaningful now for people to get together,” Barbieri said.

At about 6:20 a.m., about 20 runners participated in the “most overwhelming, underwhelming” run, said Skip Brand, owner of Healdsburg Running Co., who helped organize the pre-parade jaunt. Its 2-mile route started across from John & Zeke’s.

Just a few feet away, at the entrance of Costeaux French Bakery, the Rotary Club of Healdsburg held a green hair painting station to raise funds to eradicate polio, one of the club’s core missions. Rotarian Richard Norgrove said he started the effort in 2009 as a former president and its continued each year ever since.

By 6:50 a.m., a crowd of at least a few hundred congregated between John & Zeke’s and Costeaux. It was a mix of people and leashed dogs, babies in strollers and older adults, some rocked head-to-toe green outfits, a single plastic green shamrock necklace and everything in between.

At 7 a.m., the procession was led by Hal Wilkes, pipe major of the San Francisco Irish Pipers Band He was followed by the fire department, Healdsburg Kiwanis, city employees, the Healdsburg princess and the parade’s grand marshal. Then, the people joined in.

Hooting, hollering, bells, whistles and all kinds of sounds came from the revelers, who followed the closely regarded tradition of waking up the hotel guests around the Plaza. No more than 25 minutes later, the parade was over and the crowd began to disperse.

For many, this was a great way to see the community – even if it meant setting the alarm clock before sunrise. Some participated for the first time while others have been attending for decades, with all more than happy to see the community come together.

Kelley, Healdsburg’s mayor, said she looks forward to this event every year.

“It’s fun, family-friendly and a little wacky,” Kelley said. “And all the best of Healdsburg.”

You can reach Staff Writer Jennifer Sawhney at 707-521-5346 or jennifer.sawhney@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @sawhney_media.