On Monday, St. Patrick’s Day Parade Director Michael Bradley finally had his oft-postponed meeting with Philadelphia’s city council and top representatives of the mayor’s office to discuss the $112,000 costs for this year’s ethnic parades.
The word for the day was “compromise.”
“I’m very optimistic we’re going to reach a fair settlement,” said Bradley, who is part of a new organization encompassing the diverse group of annual city marchers—Poles, Puerto Ricans, Greeks, Germans, Italians, and the Irish. Estimated total costs for all six parades is $112,000, with the St. Patrick’s Day parade the city’s highest ticket item.
A good part of that price tag will be slashed because the city agreed it wasn’t fair to charge the groups for police officers who are already on duty but reassigned to a parade. Bradley says that the St. Patrick’s Day Observance Association may also arrange for its own portable toilets and possibly other parade essentials because it can get them at a lower price than the city charges.
Though the parade will march on as scheduled on Sunday, March 14, there will still be several fundraisers leading up to it. The association hasn’t paid last year’s bill—roughly $30,000—because it’s still being negotiated and it may need to ante up the same amount this year. “We still need to raise about $60,000,” says Bradley.
The first benefit is February 7, a Super Bowl party at the Irish Center, 6815 Emlen Street, Philadelphia, where the game will be on all three flat-screen TVs at the bar. For $20, there’s a full buffet and a live half-time performance by the Vince Gallagher Band. On February 21, a fundraiser that also honors Parade Grand Marshall Seamus Boyle, national president of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, is being held at the Mayfair Community Center in Philadelphia. A $25 charge covers beer, wine, soda, and a buffet along with music by the Shantys, Ballina, The Gallagher Brothers and the Irish dance group, Celtic Flame. A third benefit is in the works for the Springfield Country Club in Delaware County, says Bradley.
Much of the credit for the new parade détente, says Bradley, goes to City Councilwoman Maria Quinones Sanchez, who is one of the organizers of the Puerto Rican Day Parade, and Councilman Bill Green, who worked behind the scenes to bring the administration and the parade groups to the table.
“They listened to us, gave us time to talk, and the representatives from the managing director’s office were wonderful to work with,” Bradley said.
Another good thing to come out of the meeting was a renewed call to determine just how much revenue the parades bring into the city to fill in that so far elusive profit column. “Bill Green was very helpful in that,” says Bradley, who estimates the St. Patrick’s Day Parade brings as many as 100,000 people to city where they “eat, drink, pay for parking, and pay taxes. Plus we meet downtown all year and support city businesses. We’re a boon to the economy of Philadelphia.”
The Philadelphia Inquirer quotes Green, who suggested the city launch and economic impact study, as telling the administration, “Start using data to make these decisions, rather than guessing.”
Bradley brought up one cost to the city that hasn’t been factored in: the resultant bad publicity that could hurt Philadelphia’s bid to host World Cup Soccer, the Olympics, and the 2012 Democratic National Convention. “How do you attract world class events by nickel and diming people?” he asked.
