St. Pat's Parade & Shamrock Fest Return To Jaffrey In March

Once again, Jaffrey and the Monadnock Region turn green for St. Patrick’s Day. Once again, The Park Theatre is producing the 6th Annual St. Patrick’s Parade and the 4th Annual Shamrock Fest. The festival of all things Irish, begins March 12 and ends on Sunday, March 16 (2pm) with the parade along Main Street in Jaffrey, New Hampshire.

“We are very proud to produce the annual Jaffrey St. Pat’s Parade and Shamrock Fest. It our biggest community event and it brings in thousands of attendees every year. We thank everyone that makes it happen; all of the sponsors, advertisers, performers, parade participants, volunteers and Park Staff for what they do to make this festival and parade so special for the state of New Hampshire and New England. A special shout-out goes to Jaffrey resident Kevin Hampsey who co-founded and has produced all 6 parades. Without his inspiration and hard work each year, this would never happen. Thank you and Sláinte Kevin!,” said Steve Jackson, CEO and Managing Director of The Park Theatre.

The annual highlight is the parade, which begins outside St. Patrick’s Parish at 89 Main Street in Jaffrey at 2pm on Sunday, March 16 (weather date March 23). Thousands line up along Main Street (Route 124) to watch as the parade heads east and downtown past The Park Theatre. This year marks the debut of one of the greatest marching bands in America, the New Hampshire Pipes and Drums. They march in parades all over the U.S. and are the annual hallmark of the Manchester NH St. Patrick’s Parade. Formed in 2002, the critically acclaimed band of 34 bagpipers and drummers put smiles on parade watchers of any age.

The Hill’s Bandwagon of Vermont returns to the Jaffrey parade this year. Other marchers include The Flying Irish Dancers, 1st NH Regiment Revolutions, 6th NH Regiment, Keene American Legion, Conant High School Marching Band and many more.

The public is asked to join the parade as well. The parade team is asking folks to join the Monadnock Pot & Pans Band. Just bring a couple of pots and or pans. March and make beautiful noise. They are also recruiting for the Granite State Kazoo Choir. Kazoos will be provided. No experience needed, but if you have it, it can help. Just have fun. If you are interested in either, you can call the theatre to sign up (603) 532-8888.

The Grand Marshall of the parade is once again Jimmy Quinn. Jimmy is a native Irishman, born in Donegal and co-founder of the parade. The parade will be broadcast on Facebook LIVE on the theatre’s page, facebook.com/theparktheatre. Broadcast begins at 12:30pm. Diane Griffin will return doing the color for the broadcast. Diane is also from Ireland and was born in Sandycove, county of Dublin. Diane is a regular volunteer at The Park Theatre.

The Shamrock Fest begins on Wednesday, March 12 with the recently restored Ryan’s Daughter (1970) film starring Robert Mitchum. Directed by David Lean (Doctor Zhivago, Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia) it was filmed entirely in Ireland with sumptuous cinematography.

The film will be presented on the theatre’s giant screen with 17-speaker surround sound.  The Great Ireland Road Trip is a recent travelogue documentary that features a young couple as your guide. It will be shown with free admission on March 12 & 13. On Thursday, March 13 The Boxer (1997) starring Daniel Day-Lewis will be shown on the big screen. The award-winning film was directed by Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot, In the Name of The Father).

Live entertainment at Shamrock Fest begins Friday night, March 14th at 7:30pm with New England’s favorite Celtic band, the Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki Trio. They were the first band to perform at the theatre after it opened in 2021. On Saturday, The father & son duo, The Fiddling Thomsons, return to Shamrock Fest after a very successful concert last year. On Saturday night March 15, the Celtic rock band, Waking Finnegan also returns to the festival with a foot stompin’ concert at 7:30pm.

On parade day, Jaffrey’s favorite band, The Grateful Dads, will be performing in The Park Theatre’s Lounge just inside the theatre’s front doors. They will perform before the parade starting at noon, then they march in the parade, then return to the Lounge around 2:45pm until 5pm.

Starting at noon, food will be available for sale at the concession stand and in the lobby. Items include hamburgers, hot dogs, homemade chili and baked goods, plus hot chocolate, coffee/teas and lots of Guinness. 

During the festival, Irish Whiskey sampling with solo and trio flights will be sold in the Lounge. (All alcoholic purchases require photo ID.)

The Shamrock Fest’s presenting sponsor is Bar Harbor Bank & Trust. The secondary sponsor is McClure’s Tree Service.  Shamrock Fest’s official media sponsor is radio station WKNE, part of Monadnock Media Group. The parade has over two dozen sponsors from Jaffrey and the Monadnock Region. The list of sponsors can be found at shamrockfest.org.

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