Sound Shore St. Patrick’s Day Parade Returns March 20th, 2022; New Groups Welcome to March

Hearts and Shamrocks Fundraiser Slated March 3^rd at Hampshire Country Club

[MAMARONECK, NY] – After a two-year absence due to the pandemic, the Sound Shore St. Patrick’s Day Parade is back in business. This year’s parade will take place on Sunday, March 20^th, 2022, in Mamaroneck. Hundreds of musicians, Irish dancers, scout troops, firemen, politicians, school groups, and other community organizations are expected to march down Mamaroneck Avenue beginning at 1:30 pm. The parade route begins at Mamaroneck Avenue School and ends at Harbor Island Park off Boston Post Road. Community groups from Port Chester to Pelham are welcome to participate; if you are a member of an organization that is interested in marching, please send an email to rsvp@soundshoreparade.com .

New to this year’s event is its leadership by co-grand marshals, Kate Bialo and Joe Durney. Ms. Bialo and Dr. Durney were originally slated to serve separately as the 2020 and 2021 grand marshals, respectively. Given the unprecedented circumstances, the two decided to combine efforts for the parade’s return this year. “I am delighted that the deferred parades have given me the honor and privilege of serving as Co-Grand Marshal with Dr. Joe Durney, and we are all looking forward to our great community celebration on Sunday, March 20^th,” said Ms. Bialo. This generous and collaborative decision is not surprising, given the grand marshals’ community-focused work.

Ms. Bialo is known throughout Westchester County for founding the Furniture Sharehouse, Westchester’s Furniture Bank, in 2007, and serving as its volunteer Executive Director from inception. She has received numerous awards in recognition of her work there, including United Way of Westchester & Putnam’s 2010 Dorothy Allen Community Service Award; Larchmont-Mamaroneck Tri-Municipal Human Rights Commission Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Award (2011); L’Oreal 2012 Woman of Worth Award; and 2015 Leadership Westchester Alumna of the Year. Under her leadership, Furniture Sharehouse has received honors from many well-known organizations, including The New York Yankees (HOPE Week 2019). In addition, Ms. Bialo has served as President of The Junior League of Westchester on the Sound.

Dr. Durney is a co-Founder of STEER for Student Athletes. He has more than 35 years of experience in the field of education and nonprofit leadership, recently retiring as Deputy Superintendent of Schools for the Port Chester-Rye Union Free School District in New York. Dr. Durney has served as a teacher, coach, school supervisor, and school district administrator. He is an Adjunct Professor at Manhattanville College in the Graduate School of Education, teaching in the Educational Leadership Program.

The focus of the Sound Shore St. Patrick’s Day Parade is to promote Irish heritage, the American Immigrant Experience and to provide an honorable community event for family and friends. Even more important, however, is the parade’s commitment to education; the organization is very proud to have given $42,500 in college scholarships to date.

“Even though we could not hold the parades in 2020 and 2021, we still awarded five scholarships in those two years, including our new American Immigrant Experience Scholarship established by our Marshal Mhór Circle of past grand marshals, to honor and recognize the contributions and experiences of Sound Shore immigrants from all countries,” noted Ms. Bialo. “We are very proud to have been able to award those scholarships in spite of the pandemic.”

The Marshal Mhór Circle (soundshoreparade.com/marshal-mhor) will march in the parade as a group directly behind the grand marshals, and will be denoted by a special banner and sashes. The parameters for qualifying for the Marshal Mhór Circle scholarship have been broadened to reflect the American immigrant experience in Westchester for deserving high school seniors of all heritages. Information on how to apply for either scholarship can be found at soundshoreparade.com/scholarship.

“I’m so grateful that we will have the parade this year,” noted Dr. Durney. “If anything, the last two years have taught is that we can never take this wonderful event for granted. We are so fortunate to have this opportunity to celebrate Irish Heritage and the immigrant experience again in 2022! I hope everyone in the Sound Shore area will come out to join the celebration!”

The next fundraiser to finance the parades and scholarships is scheduled to take place on Thursday, March 3^rd. The Hearts and Shamrocks Cocktail Party is from 7 to 10 pm at Hampshire Country Club in Mamaroneck, NY. In addition to music, Irish dancers and raffles, the highlight of the event will be Sash Presentation Ceremony. Tickets are $100 and can be purchased at soundshoreparade.com/hearts-shamrocks-cocktail-party.