Photos: Clarendon Mardi Gras/St. Patrick's Day Parade

Columns

by ARLnow.com March 9, 2011 at 9:21 am 3,132 37 Comments

Missed last night’s festivities in Clarendon? After the jump are our photos from the 2011 Clarendon Mardi Gras/St. Patrick’s Day parade on Wilson Boulevard.

Clarendude

The joyousness of the little kids that were next to us was a bit over the top (they were chanting the whole time, trying to get beads – what is it with beads ?) Anyway, it was a good time as usual. Special props to the participants who had live music (can’t rmember all but IOTA, Whitlow’s/3, and Liberty Tavern/Northside and of course the marching band from Ballou HS.
local

I’ve never seen people in a parade so stingy with their beads and trinkets and candy. Throw them!
Mkt Common

That’s how I know I’m getting old. I stayed holed up in my apartment for the evening to avoid the hoopla. Using a word like hoopla probably also marks me as old too 🙂
- KArlington
  
  You’re probably fine, unless you also use the phrase “23 skiddoo”
  - PghBigDog
    
    I myself thought the parade was the cat’s pajamas!
Lacy Forest

Obviously lead by the Red Top Cab honour guard.
- CW
  
  Yeah, there was a big mix-up because they turned into the parking lot of the east-west grill to get dinner and the whole parade tried to follow them. True story.
Neighbor

Who would have ever thought that the words “Mardi Gras”, “St. Patrick’s Day” and “lame” would be in the same sentence?
CourthouseMom

Just wondering why a band from DC participated but none from any of the Arlington High Schools…. Otherwise, fun little parade, though its mostly marketing for the local businesses.
- Robert
  
  The Arlington HS bands are invited each year to participate and each year they decline. Have to say that Ballou is pretty great.
  - SG
    
    I was wondering why there were no Arlington schools represented. Ballou was the best part of the parade by far.
SG

This was about the most ghetto parade I’ve ever seen.
- borf
  
  Stay home next time then.
  - SG
    
    wah wah wah. You’re telling me a few trucks full of a bunch of 20 year old drunk girls (some trucks not even decorated and the girls weren’t even waving), taxis with balloons on their antennas, dogs, and one marching band make a good parade? I still had a good time with my friends, but the parade was awful.
    - Robert
      
      It’s a neighborhood, homegrown parade. Long on creativity and short on cash. That’s what makes it so much fun. If you want beads, next year stand farther down the street, closer to Courthouse where the parade begins. We caught more beads than we know what to do with. In fact several times we had to catch them or risk getting hit in the face. People had so many they were sharing with anyone who wanted more.
    - borf
      
      Fine.
      
      Stay home next time.
    - mehoo
      
      I suspect SG is one of those obnoxious Young Republicans who wandered away from Clarendon Grill. 😉
      - SG
        
        Ha. no.
        I’m just expressing my opinion, not complaining.
        I appreciate the efforts, but the parade was still ghetto. I was expecting a little something more I guess with this being Arlington and all. Parades in my hometown of 30,000 were better. Tough times I suppose. Or people got too drunk to put together a good float.
      - Eponymous Coward
        
        How exactly is “most ghetto” not complaining? This must be some strange new Interwebs usage of “complaining” I’m not familiar with.
        
        In any event, it was better than this brawl I went to in Crystal City the other night. I showed up and a hip hop awards ceremony broke out. WTF was that about?
      - Clarendude
        
        For a few years, a the Krewe of Louisiana participated and they told us that it was similar to the parades that occured in the small towns in Louisiana on mardi gras. They were a great bunch, I hope they come back.
        
        http://tinyurl.com/4cttwt5
    - V Dizzle
      
      Complaining is fun. Why not participate and show them how you’d do it?
22201

Agree the bead throwing was stingy. Organizers did a poor job of keeping people out of the streets at least near willows. Young kids could not get beads since the drunk 20 year olds kept grabbing them.
- V Dizzle
  
  20 isn’t young?
arlgirl

we must have been at the ‘family’ corner. Huge bunch of kids from our neighborhood..no drunk 20 year olds in site. Couple of drunk 40-something parents, but they didn’t try to grab the beads!
ClarendonBlvd

We were right at the first corner on Wilson/Barton, good mix of people. Ballou HS band were great. Agree w/ others that organizers could have done better job of keeping people off streets.
Bob O

Our apologizes to all the people at the end of the parade route. Our float didn’t manage our throws well enough and the crowd was much larger than 2009. We did distribute about 2500 beads, 10 pounds of candy and 150 doubloons.

We look forward to next year. Hope everyone will come back.

Sincerely
“We Love New Orleans Social Club”
Michael

I thought it was a nice parade, but I wish they would have slowed down. Some floats flew by us like they were racing to run a red light, which wound up leaving huge gaps between participants. It’s sad that none of the Arlington County schools joined the parade, but I’m glad to see Ballou Senior High. Again I wish the parade was slower so we could have enjoyed more of Ballou’s performance.
Vince (Owner of the Crapping dog)

OK people first off this is not the Rose Parade, some of your comments complaining about this parade are lame. This is Arlington County where they have their annual shin dig aka county fair in the parking lot of a grade school. For those of you who are bitching about how your kid didn’t grab some beads, you only have yourself to blame for not making an effort! As for the marching band from Ballou High, why wasn’t there a high school from Arlington County representing Arlington. Last time I checked Ballou is in Washington, D.C. not Arlington, VA and because of the band being so loud they literally scared the SHIT out of my dog NO JOKE!! So thanks to you Arlington for the great parade and dog shit on my arm. I look forward to the Cinco de Mayo parade and one can only hope people will be throwing tacos instead of cheap ass beads, then Ill be doing the shitting not the dog! I AM OUT!
- Robert
  
  Vince, as stated above, Arlington HS bands are invited, but decline to participate. You’ll have to ask them why they don’t want to be a part of their hometown parade.
  - FedUp
    
    It has something to do with what type of activity they are in and when. They don’t do marching band in the winter/spring. So what? It’s a community parade! Really weird. I hope the school superintendent or the school board members read this.
  - Vince (Owner of the Crapping dog)
    
    Dear Tool errrrr ahhhhhh Rob,
    Sure let me bust out my mobile rotary phone and ask them. While your waiting maybe you can plan the Cinco de Mayo parade….hey maybe you can volunteer to doss a few tacos while your at it!!!
    - V Dizzle
      
      Funny to douche in 50 words or less. Congratulations, you did it!!
    - Maria
      
      What does that even mean?
- CW
  
  This might be the single best post I’ve ever read anywhere on the Internet, ever.
Douchbaggery

Second that – still laughing. Thank you Vince!
Yellow Taxi Anaheim

Yellow Taxi Anaheim. The Yellow Cab staff can provide quality paratransit transportation around Orange County.
eosacritic

Blame exuberance on a lack of beads at the end–throwers just didn’t know how to pace themselves, so perhaps more guidance on that could be given in the instructions.
I actually missed the Bolivian dancers this time–it seems to be too much or nothing.
Anyone got any more pics to post?

Subscribe to our mailing list