Bad luck: Idaho rated St. Paddy's dud
JAKE PARRISH/Press File Beer-lovers express their love for Guinness while wearing beer can costumes during the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Coeur d’Alene on March 13, 2016. Idaho was recently named one of the tamest states when it comes to celebrating St. Paddy’s Day.
Maybe Idahoans just aren't into green beer.
The Gem State is on the bottom of Candystore.com's "Rowdiest States for St. Patrick's Day" list, along with 14 other states. Montana and Washington, however, are among those that achieved rowdy status.
"Due to the size of our community and the population of Idaho itself, I can understand why it wouldn't be that rowdy, but there are several Irish influences in Idaho," said Ilene Moss, who runs All Things Irish and helps coordinate Coeur d'Alene's annual St. Paddy's Day activities.
"Here, it is a lot smaller. It's very family-oriented," she said. "I like to keep it family-oriented so everybody has a good time. It's not exactly the crowd that's going to go out and get rowdy."
Candystore.com released its list and interactive map on Monday — www.candystore.com/blog/holidays/rowdiest-states-st-patricks-day-parades/ — ranking Idaho in the "least rowdy" category and determining that Idahoans "apparently have much better things to do than drink green beer and celebrate the luck of the Irish."
The rankings were based on how many St. Paddy's Day parades are taking place in each state this year as well as other factors such as how much beer each state consumes during the Irish culture celebration.
New York ranked No. 1 in St. Patrick's Day spirits — er, spirit — with 32 parades. Massachusetts, which boasts one of the nation's highest Irish population densities in Boston, celebrates with 10 parades.
"I think that downtown Coeur d'Alene is definitely expanding their festivities this year and there's a lot of fun stuff going on, so we're definitely taking action," said Emily Boyd, events coordinator for the Coeur d'Alene Downtown Association. "I would say even though we're not rowdy, there's still a lot of wholesome fun in Coeur d'Alene.”
Idahoans will have a chance to redeem their green esteem this Saturday during the Downtown Association's St. Patrick's Day Parade and Celebration. The parade starts at 4 p.m. on Sherman Avenue.
The grand marshal this year is Fred "Skip" Murphy, a third-generation Coeur d'Alene resident. He is the son of Fred L. Murphy — "Mr. Lake Coeur d'Alene" — and has spent his entire career in the marine business.
The 2017 Irish Woman of the Year is Shannon Riggs and the Irish Colleen is Amanda Oyler.
"Even if you get all of Coeur d'Alene together, it's not going to be as rowdy as New York due to population," Boyd said. "I think there are options provided to celebrate and there’s always things going on, so maybe we're not the most rowdy city but we definitely have areas where people can celebrate."
The festivities include the Pint o' Gold St. Patrick's Pub Crawl starting in The Resort Plaza Shops at 4:30 p.m.
Anyone of Irish heritage is invited to march in the parade. People with the last names of "Murphy" and "O'Brien" are encouraged to join parade participants carrying banners bearing their names.