Mississippi Roads is stationed in downtown Jackson to celebrate the 26th annual Mal’s St. Paddy’s Parade.
http://www.halandmals.com/stpat/index.html
The Children’s Festival is held on the grounds of the Old Capitol. The 2008 version of Mal’s St. Paddy’s Parade is themed 26.1 a MALathon. This theme plays off the recent success of the Mississippi Blues Marathon and the fact that the event is 26 years old. The parade had humble beginnings as a rag tag group of friends led by local entertainment promoter Malcolm White made their way through downtown Jackson and ended at George Street Grocery where an impromptu street party took place when the Bluz Boys band refused to stop playing after the parade had ended.
Today, the event has mushroomed into a day long celebration with a five mile run and walk beginning at 8:00 am followed by a pet parade and children’s parade at the Old Capitol Museum. The big parade then kicks off around noon followed by a street party at Hal & Mal’s that lasts late into the night.
It’s amazing how much the parade has changed over the years along with its founder Malcolm White. He is now a restaurant owner, writer, publisher and the Executive Director of the Mississippi Arts Commission.
He almost wears as many hats as chef and restaurant owner Robert St. John; who is the subject of our first story.
http://www.robertstjohn.com/
Robert St.John of Hattiesburg has served as executive chef, president, and CEO of the Purple Parrot Café, the Crescent City Grill, and the Mahogany Bar in Hattiesburg and Meridian.
He is a nationally-known restaurateur, chef, food writer, and author of seven books. He is one of the nations’ only food/humor columnists. He is a devoted husband and father of two children and it turns out to be his favorite job of all the others.
Mal’s St. Paddy’s Parade has become the third largest in the nation behind New York and Chicago. Tens of thousands of people flock to Jackson to view such parade favorites as the Rude Boys and the O’Tux Society.
But it is the thousands of Sweet Potato Queen Wannabees who get here on Thursday and don’t leave until Sunday that has turned this event into an almost week long celebration.
In our next story, we introduce you to the one and only Sweet Potato Queen.
In Jackson, MS, the 17th of March is much more than a celebration of Irish and green. Since Mal’s St. Paddy’s Parade began in 1982, it has been a day of sequins, crowns, and of course, sweet potatoes. We can thank Jill Conner Browne for that one. She declared herself to be the Sweet Potato Queen “because I thought is sounded funny and still do.” Now, 26 years later, Jill is a national bestselling author, and her message has shown over 5500 chapters worldwide the power of play in dealing with life. And on the third weekend every March, thousands of queens flood Jackson to join in on the utterly fabulous celebration. You can too.
www.sweetpotatoqueens.com
www.kaceyjones.com
http://cmn.umc.edu/
http://www.umc.edu/healthcare/children.html
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