St. Paddy's Day Success

St. Paddy’s Day revelers turned out in droves to enjoy the St. Patrick’s Day events this weekend, despite the dismal weather forecast predicted for Saturday and Sunday.

The overcast (but dry) Saturday morning kicked off with flapjacks at the Firefighter’s Pancake Breakfast at Fire Station #16. Proceeds from the pancake breakfast benefitted the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation and the Local 55 Charity Fund.

“We started out slow early-on but once everyone woke up and realized it was not raining, we ended up with a late morning rush and a line down the street,” said Alameda County Fire Captain Steve Sloan.

According to Aiesha Knowles of the Alameda County Fire Department, over 700 people attended the breakfast.

The annual Dublin St. Patrick’s Day Parade followed the flapjacks. The parade, which is hosted by the Dublin Lions Club, included over 80 entries ranging from bands, floats, clowns, schools, local businesses to community groups. The parade is the second-largest St. Patrick’s Day parade in the Bay Area.

Parade watchers caught treats such as candy, necklaces and pencils, which were thrown from parade participants as they made their way down Dublin Boulevard.

Jewel Kelly, of Dublin, says she comes to see the parade every year. She also brought her sister, Terry Capriulo, of Ripon, to enjoy the festivities.

The Frederiksen Elementary School's Girl Scout Troop 934 peddled Girl Scout cookies along the parade route while the local Boy Scouts sold bottled water to thirsty folks stationed along Dublin Boulevard.

The St. Patrick’s Festival, located in the Dublin Civic Center, ran from Saturday at 10 a.m. through Sunday at 5 p.m. Festival-goers were treated to Irish music along with a wide variety of vendors and food.

Casie Zayes, of Livermore, visited the festival after a long hiatus.

“I haven’t been to the festival in five years,” said commented.

Vendors from all over the Bay Area could be found selling their products. Craig Hemphill, of Castro Valley, sells art made from durable materials. This was Hemphill’s second year selling at the festival.

His business, Practical C & C Patterns, creates art out of metal, wood and plastics. He works from his home and can create custom pieces in about four days.

Donna D’Abate and Keith Patrick Brown, both from Livermore, manned the Sky Lake Ranch booth, which sells all things pomegranate. D’Abate says this is her first year selling at the Dublin St. Paddy’s festival.

According to Brown, Sky Lake Ranch sells fruit spreads, grill sauces, syrup, grenadine and marinades.

“We include cool recipe cards with the products,” said D’Abate.

“Sky Lake Ranch is a 160 acres ranch located in Chico,” commented Brown.

Kate Seminsky, a Dublin Resident, attended the events with her dog, Stella.

“I am here to support the city and see the parade,” said Seminsky.

Seminsky was with her friend, Betsy Zimmermann, who was also from Dublin. Zimmermann brought her four-legged friend, Dozer. This was the first time Zimmermann has attended the festival.

“I have never been [to the festival],” she said.

Livermore resident, Jim Gould, attended for the fifth time while his friend, Gloria Fulford was enjoying the fun for the first time. They were at the festival to see a friend’s band.

“We are here to see Bracken,” Gould said.

According to Dublin Police Services Lieutenant Herb Walters, there were no incidents or festival- related arrests for the entire weekend.

“[It was] overall a nice and peaceful festival,” he said.

Check out more from Saturday.

We want to know if you attended the weekend events. What was your favorite part of the Dublin St. Patrick’s Day fun? Are you an annual visitor or a first-timer and what city are you from? Patch us your comments below in the comments section.