Thousands Turn Out For KC's St. Pat's Parade

POSTED: 3:00 pm CST March 17, 2006

UPDATED: 9:35 pm CST March 17, 2006

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Thousands of people turned out Friday for the 33rd Annual St. Patrick's Day parade in Kansas City.

The theme of the parade was a tribute to Walt Disney. Disney founded Laugh-O-Gram Films in Kansas City before moving to Hollywood.

Many of the floats carried the Disney theme and featured Mickey Mouse and other well-known characters from animation.

Beside marching bands and drill teams and decked-out floats, character balloons were new to the parade this year. There were also two marriage proposals, which were shown live on KMBC-TV.

Police said they arrested 12 people for disorderly conduct after the parade. Officers said one person had a gun; he was arrested for aggravated assault.

Buck O'Neil

Baseball legend Buck O'Neil took part in the parade as the Mike Murphy Honorary Irishman of the Year. Before the parade, Mayor Kay Barnes presented O'Neil with a city proclamation congratulating him for the award, and she let him know how much Kansas City loves him.

Buck O'Neil

"You know, people that think that about you, you know, it means everything in the world. (They're) showing their love for me because they know I love them," O'Neil said.

O'Neil said that he would donate a copy of the city proclamation to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

Breakfast Tradition

At the start of the day, hundreds of people headed over to Browne's Market and Deli at 33rd Street and Pennsylvania for a traditional Irish breakfast of scrambled eggs, rashers, bangers, soda bread and potatoes.

Browne's Market and Deli set up a large tent in Westport to serve a traditional Irish breakfast.

Because the crowds get bigger every year, the owners set up a large tent next to the deli to accommodate everyone.

"This is it. If you're not here, you're nowhere," customer Margeaux Killian said.

St. Paddy's Wagon

As St. Patrick's Day celebrations continue, revelers are reminded about the St. Paddy's Wagon.

St. Joseph Medical Center and Yellow Cab have teamed up to give free rides home to revelers who have had too much to drink.

The service area is the River Market to Interstate 435 in south Kansas City and Mission Road to Prospect Avenue. It includes the River Market, downtown Kansas City, the historic jazz district, Westport, 39th Street corridor, the Plaza, Brookside and Waldo.

Cabs will take people home between 3 p.m. and midnight. The number to call is (816) 943-3949.