Don’t hold it against him, but the organizer of the Cincinnati St. Patrick’s Day Parade has a German name. However, Chris Schulte’s mother was both a Casey and a McCarthy.
This is the eighth parade for Schulte as chair, but he remembers working on it since the 1980s with his parents. You can imagine how he and others have missed the parade during its two-year pandemic-related absence.
“We have what we call the green season for us,” Schulte explains. “It usually starts with the stealing of the statue in mid-February, which we did do. And so that, honestly, especially in the Irish community, kind of got this back to normal for us.”
The “stealing” of the St. Patrick statue from the Holy Cross Immaculata Church in Mt. Adams is the tradition Schulte was referring to.
This year’s parade
Look for even more entries as the parade steps off this Saturday at the southwest corner of Paul Brown Stadium at noon.
“We’re really, really excited this year because I think everyone got a little antsy not having the parade," Schulte says. "So, we’ve actually added nine new entries, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but for us, is a big deal.”
Schulte likes the parade being at The Banks because people can walk around with a drink. Chances are that will include green beer, he says. “I can’t promise that but I would venture to say yes!”
He's also excited about an Irish red ale made by Mad Tree Brewing.
Plan to hear pipes and drums, bagpipes and other Irish and Scottish music.
