UNION COUNTY, NJ — The 25th annual Union County St. Patrick’s Day Parade was in full display on Morris Avenue on Saturday, March 26. In charge of the proceedings was parade adjutant Damian Holmes, 26, a Union parking enforcement officer. The term of a parade adjutant is one year.
“I’m pretty much the guy who gets the parade on the street,” he said in a telephone interview on Monday, March 28. “I call the groups, line them up, everything.”
There were more than 70 individual groups and 25 bands in the parade.
“There’s no right or wrong answer where they line up,” he said. “You just try to make it look nice on the street.”
According to Holmes, the placement of the bands is crucial.
“We try to separate the bands as much as possible and get enough people in between,” he said. “We start each division off with a band and, from there on, we build our divisions.”
Holmes said the parade had seven divisions. Among the parading organizations were charitable organizations, labor unions, step dancers, schools and real estate agents.
“Anyone that has a group, we’ll help them get in,” he said.
The grand marshal was retired Springfield Police Officer Michael McNanny.
Holmes estimated approximately 2,000 people viewed the procession.
“I’ve been helping with the St. Patrick’s Parade since I was 17,” he said. “My parents have been involved with it for years.”
Holmes is a Union High School graduate, Class of 2013.
Photo Courtesy of Damian Holmes