Here’s a look back at the first St. Patrick’s Day parade on Hilton Head
Thousands of people typically line the route of the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Hilton Head, but the event had a more humble start in 1983.
Coverage in The Island Packet on Tuesday, March 22, of that year explained how a group of islanders met for a champagne breakfast and then paraded up U.S. 278 using a miniature fire engine, a trolley and pickup trucks.
Unfortunately, the organizers, led by businessman Tom Reilley, didn’t realize they would need a permit for their celebration. They meant no harm and caused no harm.
Nevertheless, they were “scolded” by a Highway Patrol officer for their lack of a permit, the newspaper wrote at the time.
Next year’s parade would be “bigger and better,” Reilley predicted.
Indeed it was, and the parade has as grown every year.
In 2019, Island Packet senior editor and columnist David Lauderdale was grand marshal for the 1.2-mile parade during which an estimated 30,000 people celebrated on Hilton Head’s south end.
The 2020 parade was canceled in March because of coronavirus.
This story was originally published July 7, 2020 at 12:21 PM.
