Spectators Jennifer and Andrew Wiess, Gina and Craig Hodnett and Vickie and Gijs Van Verplas, all of Pennsylvania, decked out in green wigs for the 2019 parade.
By Donald Wittkowski
They insisted they didn’t coordinate their outrageous outfits. Frankly, we suspect that’s a bunch of marlarkey.
There they were – all six of them – resplendent in goofy, green shag wigs while watching the colorful St. Patrick’s Day parade unfold in front of them on Landis Avenue.
“We all just show up and bring something,” said Jennifer Wiess, with a laugh.
Wiess claimed that she and her husband, Andrew, had no idea that their friends, Gina and Craig Hodnett and Vickie and Gijs Van Verplas, would also dress up for the parade in matching green wigs.
The six friends, all from Pennsylvania, have been coming to Sea Isle City for the past six years to enjoy the St. Patrick’s Day festivities. It is their tradition to dress up for the holiday.
On Saturday, they joined hundreds, if not thousands, of other spectators amid a sea of green clothing, hats, beads, shamrocks and, yes, wigs, as the parade rolled down Landis Avenue between 83rd and 63rd streets.
Mayor Leonard Desiderio waves to the crowds lining the sidewalks along the Landis Avenue parade route.
“A parade brings everyone together. Today, everyone is Irish,” declared Mayor Leonard Desiderio, whose family has sponsored the St. Patrick’s Day Parade for 29 years and also hosts Sea Isle’s annual Columbus Day Parade.
Desiderio, accompanied by his daughter, Carmela, strode down Landis Avenue, waving at and shaking hands with the crowd. He was clad in a leprechaun-like bowler hat and green jacket.
The lively procession was accompanied by the drums and wailing bagpipes played by the Cape Atlantic Police and Fire Irish Pipe Brigade, whose members were dressed in plaid kilts.
Police cars, fire trucks and other emergency vehicles flashed their lights and blared their sirens and horns to crank up the excitement level.
The parade grand marshals were Sea Isle AARP Chapter 710 President Frank Roach and his wife, Barbara. They traveled along the parade route in the back of a pickup truck.
The Cape Atlantic Police and Fire Irish Pipe Brigade serenades the crowd with festive music.
The festivities and partying got started earlier in the day with a jam-packed celebration at Kix-McNutley’s, the mayor’s bar and nightclub complex on 63rd Street.
Frank Barrett, of Blue Bell, Pa., shows off his elaborate St. Patrick's costume during the party at Kix-McNutley's.
Kathe and Bruce Butler and their friends, Sindy and Don Strouse, all of Sea Isle, were also decked out in St. Paddy’s Day-inspired finery, including wacky shamrock-trimmed sunglasses and green beads that lit up.
Bruce Butler drew second looks from the crowd with his choice of comical head gear. He pulled off his big, floppy green hat on top to reveal a green bowler hat underneath. When he removed the bowler, there was a tiny hat perched on his head.
“Everyone laughs, smiles and cheers,” Kathe Butler said of the reaction to her husband’s hats.
Butler pointed out that the St. Patrick’s Day parade and festivities are part of the playful atmosphere that makes Sea Isle a special place for her family and their friends.
“Seeing our family and friends in this way celebrates everything about Sea Isle. We do it with a lot of smiles,” she said.
From left, Bruce and Kathe Butler and Sindy and Don Strouse, all of Sea Isle, join in the festivities at Kix-McNutley's.
Cape May County Sheriff Bob Nolan, right, leads his "Nolan Nation" marchers in the parade.
Revelers at Kix-McNutley's hold up a sign touting their group.
Parade grand marshals Barbara and Frank Roach greet the spectators with a wave.
Tim Kelly, who lives in Hackettstown, N.J., and has a summer home in Sea Isle, portrays St. Patrick in the parade.
