Opinion: Montauk's St. Patrick's Parade, Pure Long Island

The Montauk St. Patrick's Parade is a "once you go, you come back every year" type of event. Why? The answer is because it has the magic of Montauk's "own" putting out the love they have for their hamlet combined with the way the spectacle connects with all Long Islanders. The 56th annual Montauk St. Patrick's Parade will start on Edgemere Road at noon on March 25, 2018.

When I moved to Montauk in 2006 to live, I was assigned to cover the parade for The Montauk Pioneer because I had never seen it before. Dan Rattiner, founder of both the Montauk Pioneer and then later Dan's Papers, chuckled, saying, "I guarantee you will have a lot to write about." Seeing the then crowd of 50,000 people lining the parade route blew my mind. All these Long Islanders just showed up about an hour before the start. I was sipping soup in front of the Chamber of Commerce office — I still have the souvenir cup, part of my collection now — when the fanfare began. People lined the streets in green wigs, green painted faces, green glittered makeup, and so on. Little children were dressed up in all sorts of native Irish outfits. Folks set up camp with folding chairs, tables, coolers and were sort of tailgating like before a New York Jets game back in the Shea Stadium days. You could smell ribs, hot dogs, and all sorts of BBQ delights.

People were meeting other people. It was very different from the New York City St. Patrick's Day parades I had attended when I work in the Grace Building on 42t between 5th and 6th Avenues. Those had a "huge" police presence. The Montauk Parade is more a collection of the fire departments from all over Long Island. This, of course, brings their family and friends creating an all Long Island feel. There are very few non-Long Island people at the parade.

I believe I started my piece about the parade calling it "Americana at its Best!" The joy was the way the young kids watched with their eyes wide open. The older I have become the more I enjoy the pure joy of the pre-teen kids watching the floats, the various bag pipes of fire departments from all over the island and the assortment of historical fire trucks from East Hampton Village, Sag Harbor, and Montauk itself. I watch folks I knew from town launching candy, beads and small toys to the children. I noticed neighbors dressed as clowns and of course a new recent crowd favorite Nancy Atlas, the Montauk local entertainer and her posse dressed as Elvis in Cadillac convertibles. I almost joined them a few years back, but lost the nerve.

The sounds of the drums, the bag pipes, the bands, the fire engine sirens, the music from the floats, and old fire engine honking horns is what small town America is truly all about. It's pure heritage, pure community, just a really good time, making friends, seeing friends and being a friend.

Now it can be cold, it can snow, it can rain, and it can be perfect all on the same day — that's Montauk in March. I will be out there again this year even though I now live in East Patchogue. It gives me a chance to see my friends, and the town I grew to love so much over the years. Back in Oct., 1999, when my dad was home in his bed having his last night on this earth he whispered to me, "Tom, I wish I could see just one more sunrise in Montauk." When I lived in Montauk at Ditch Plains I made it a point to walk my dog at the ocean every morning at sunrise. Needless to say when I watched the sun crawl over the horizon I felt my dad smiling. I only wish we once could have shared a day at a Montauk St. Patrick's Parade. He loved a great parade.

Patch photos by T.J. Clemente.

This post is contributed by a community member. The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Registered users are welcome to post on Patch.