Around Des Moines

(Des Moines, Iowa, March 17) It rained on the 2008 St. Patrick’s Day parade. That kept the crowd down and the pace fast. It also made the traffic that was detoured around Locust Street worse. I missed the first hour of the parade because I was on a business call, then had to wait for a bus that ended up running more than ten minutes late due to all the cars with single occupancy. If the rain had stopped earlier I could have used my umbrella as a candy dish, like at least one enterprising viewer.

While I only saw the last few parade entries, there were plenty of amusing juxtapositions. In the pictures below, the Korn Patch Klowns cart has City Hall in the background, the Des Moines Art Center’s advertisement of Iowa Artists 2008 has mosaics on the walls of the YMCA in the background, and members of the Des Moines Science Fiction Society are carrying a banner listing Irish authors with the old public library in the background.

This being a parade, there was a variety of dogs. They were all moving too fast to get great focus, but they are cute and dog lovers, if not professional photographers, will forgive me for the slightly fuzzy pictures.

Plenty of politicians participated in the parade. I saw an entry for Polk County Recorder Julie Haggerty drive past. Several supporters of Ed Fallon, a candidate for Iowa’s 3rd District Congressional seat, and a few supporters of presidential candidate Barack Obama walked in the rain. Parade watchers might have elected the person serving coffee from the Amici coffeehouse float as the most practical.

A picture at the end of the line sums up the parade. Lots of plastic beads, a flag of Ireland, and a cart full of empty beverage bottles. A new set of activities could be found, though, at the State Historical Building. Among the entertainment ws edible art for children in the form of frosting cookies and music for all ages from Four Shillings Short, featuring Christy Martin and Aodh Óg Ó Tuama.

M.R. Field covers events for AroundDesMoines.com.