St. Patrick's Day Parade begins in New Haven, CT, with the cops clearing everyone out of the way. We got "lucky" and had a cop camp out right in front of where we were standing. He inevitably ends up in about 50% of my photos.

As New England's history has been around since the 1700's, there's a whole bunch of groups that celebrate that history and run around (read: march) in funny (but kinda cool) uniforms.

Militia men marching; I love the Fife and Drums Corps that come to the parades.

Parade Day
Every year, on the Sunday before St. Patrick's Day, New Haven hosts a parade. This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the re-emergence of the parade. It's all very Irish with lots of green and shamrocks and Irish dancing schools showing off.

The real reason why I get so excited? Legal drunken debauchery on the streets of New Haven. Imagine, a moody New England winter for several months. Then a parade, that goes on, rain or shine, where you're allowed to have open containers of liquor. It's a very pagan-esque way of ushering in the spring and it's usually close to the equinox as well.

To do Parade Day properly, you need to come into town early and claim your legal parking spot, hopefully not 2 miles away from the parade route. You must always have supplies and a way to keep them cold. It's recommended to have a back-up sweatshirt/jacket/coat/umbrella in case it rains (it inevitably does). Definitely bring your cell phone so you can call your friends when you get lost (you will). Scout out a place to pee (this rule only goes for girls; boys can pee just about anywhere). Bring a camera, if you want to remember everything you probably won't in the morning. Eat. You must eat something so you don't end up drowning in your own vomit.

And drink.