Fremont St. to host first St. Patrick’s Day parade

Erin Neff

Monday, March 15, 1999 | 11:35 a.m.

Although flowing beer, reported luck of the Irish and pure blarney are common enough downtown, the Fremont Street Experience will give its first-ever blessing to official St. Patrick's Day activities on Wednesday.

The 33rd annual St. Patrick's Day Parade will march for the first time down Fourth Street and cross under the Fremont Street's canopy-topped pedestrian mall as green-wearing tourists pack bleachers for a temporary break from their hopes of green-filled wallets.

The parade, sponsored by the Las Vegas Sons of Erin, will begin at Fourth Street and Charleston Boulevard at 10 a.m. and march north, crossing the Fremont Street Experience and ending at Ogden Avenue.

In previous years, the cars, bands, bagpipers and jigging lasses made their way down Las Vegas Boulevard.

"We're excited about it," said Kim Daskas, publicity director for the Fremont Street Experience. "We're setting up bleachers near our intersections and the people will be able to see the parade with the Experience as a backdrop."

Sales of green beer and green carnations will be in full swing nearby at Fitzgerald's hotel-casino, which counts St. Patrick's week as its busiest of the year.

"We have a good time and we're going to be participating in the parade," said Ed Serrano, Fitzgerald's director of marketing.

The carnation sale is already under way. Proceeds benefit the Ronald McDonald House. Fitzgerald's will also sponsor mini parades by a bagpipe band up and down the Experience and will have an Irish dancer and in-house leprechaun to liven things up.

On two stages after the parade, the Fremont Street Experience is sponsoring live music from the bands Brother, Ceili Rain, Bagpipes Johnson, Orla & the Gasmen, Craicmore and Bur.