The annual Ventura County St. Patrick’s Day Parade will march down Main Street for the 26rd time in downtown Ventura on Saturday, March 15, beginning at 10 a.m. The theme is “The Irish Thru the Ages.”

The whole county will be turning out for the wearin’ of the green on Main Street. Horses, clowns, car clubs, marching bands and the Biggest Green Pig in the World will be there with all of the hoopla and shenanigans that make St. Patrick’s Day a fun day for all.
Presented by the Ventura Elks Lodge 1430, the parade will have oodles of entries and will make its way down Main Street from the old Mission San Buenaventura, past the reviewing stand at Chestnut Street and on to the end of the parade route on Fir Street.

Judges for the parade have the difficult job of choosing who are best qualified to win trophies in many categories such as best Auto Club, Best Marching Band and the coveted Arnold Hubbard Memorial Trophy for Best in Show. Judges are Trudy Arriaga, Ventura Unified School District Superintendent; James Lockwood, Ventura County Fair Grounds director of Public Relations and a St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee member; Joe Schroeder, CEO Ventura County Credit Union; Doug Wood, general manager of Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach; Ed Summers, president/CEO Ventura Chamber of Commerce; and Connie Stahl, representing the Elks Lodge 1430.

Dr. Richard Rush, president of California State University Channel Islands, is the grand marshal. He said he is proud of his Irish heritage and his involvement within Ventura County since he became president of the university 10 years ago.

Children from all over Ventura County will march in the parade this year. They will be representing the Buena High School Marching Band, Girl Scouts of America, Claddagh School of Irish Dancing, Ocean View Senior High School, Sacred Heart School, Boys and Girls Clubs, Thousand Oaks High School Cheerleaders, Dance with Aloha, Oxnard High School Air Force Jr, ROTC and the Rio Mesa High School Band.

For more information, call 643-4275 or visit www.venturastpatricksdayparade.com.