The day when everyone is Irish
Montreal hosts the oldest St. Patrick‘s Day parade in North America
Photography by James St Laurent
March 19, 2018
St.Patrick’s Day is named for Saint Patrick, the first guy to feed Guinness to a snake.
Conan O’Brian
The ever-popular Montreal St. Patrick’s Day Parade took place at noon Sunday, March 18 in downtown Montreal following a new route this year.
The revitalization of Ste Catherine Street forced the move of the 195th edition of St Patrick’s Day Parade to de Maisoneuve Street. The change didn’t dampen the festive mood of any participants, and possibly the slightly narrowed “stage” gave a somewhat more personal experience in the end.
The spring ritual was held under sunny skies but the temperatures hovered several degrees below zero. Despite the chill in the air the entire route was lined with cheering patrons and a myriad of mascots, marching bands, dancers, pets, banners, flags and of course Guiness!
The narrower route didn’t impede the parade, although some patrons thought the change went against the 50 year old of tradition of the parade moving along Ste Catherine Street. In the end no ones compass was in a furor of the parade moving westward this year instead of following the eastern winds. The route did finish closer to many of the Bishop and Crescent street bars, delivering patrons to their favourite watering holes where the Guiness was just right, and in some cases green.
Montreal’s is the oldest St. Paddy’s Day parades in North America. There was no shortage of green, from flags and balloons, to costumes and even beer, as thousands of people came out to celebrate. The parade attracts just about everyone — young and old, families, couples and singles, people of all ethnicities — we’re all Irish for a few hours!
James St Laurent‘s work is all about the idea of communicating through images that convey an emotive context and engage the viewer by presenting a visual paradox. Different subjects and genres require different approaches, but the result is still a compelling image that captures your attention. jamesstlaurent.com
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