Hard to believe another year has passed — but it’s already Parade Time in Holyoke once again. The 2014 edition of the Holyoke Saint Patrick’s Parade steps off this Sunday. Once more this year — as we have for more than a decade now — WGBY is proud to be bringing you the live broacast starting at 12 Noon.
This is the 63rd annual parade for Holyoke. Eileen Curran and Brian Corridan will host the three-and-a-half hour broadcast. I’ll be out on the parade route talking with some of the interesting local and visiting folks who’ll be marching the two-and-half-mile plus route from the K-Mart Plaza parking lot on Route 5 through the city to the Reviewing Stand downtown.
The WGBY technical crew will be out all day Friday, Saturday and again very early Sunday morning to set up all the equipment that’s needed to produce this kind of very involved broadcast on location. The fact that they are doing all that work outdoors in New England during the first week of spring pretty much guarantees very cold conditions, which certainly doesn’t make things any easier. Let’s just hope for no snow or rain!
Music, of course, is always a huge part of the Holyoke Saint Patrick’s Parade. There are more than 40 different musical units scheduled to march this year. High school bands, drum and bugle corps., Mummers and more are all scheduled to be on hand. Making sure viewers at home hear all the music just as clearly and purely as the parade route spectators is extremely important to our crew. A tremedous amount of work goes into making the audio — the sound portion — of the broadcast the very best it can possibly be. It’s just one more component of the amazing job these unsung, behind-the-scenes men and women perform each and every parade day.
If you decide against coming out in the cold to see the parade in person — while you’re sitting at home warm and comfortable watching the broadcast — do me a favor. Take just a minute to think about the WGBY technical crew — and really the entire Holyoke Saint Patrick’s Parade Committee — and all the work they all do to bring you this broadcast and to make this great event a reality every year for Western Massachusetts!
