St. Patrick's Day parade in Inverness won't go on

INVERNESS -- Organizers of the annual St. Patrick's Day parade scheduled for March decided to cancel this year's event, citing a lack of cooperation from participants and low financial support from the business community.

Parade organizer Mike Colbert said the parade had been declining in quality over the past two years, which prompted him to cancel it. He said the pipe and drum corps canceled and last year only the Crystal River High marching band participated.

"We'll lay in the grass for a year and try to have a better parade in March 2003," Colbert said.

In a letter e-mailed to the Citrus Times, Colbert wrote: "The largest local entrant in 2001, who not only pledged the unit's participation in writing but insisted on being positioned among the first three entrants, just didn't show, without so much as a memo or a phone call."

Colbert also said the business community showed "almost total indifference."

"The downtown merchants association gave us $25," he said.

Colbert, 68, has been involved in the St. Patrick's Day parade for the past six years. He said Wednesday that the parade should be a major event, with lots of bands and floats.

"We had the best crowd ever last year. But looking at it objectively, what we gave them was substandard," Colbert said. "If we can't put on a first-class event, then there's no use doing it."

Colbert also said that a big increase in the insurance for the parade burdened organizers with a bill they couldn't afford. He said past parades had used a $1-million insurance policy taken out by the Ancient Order of Hibernians, a fraternal organization.

But the parade organizing committee was told it needed to incorporate. When the St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee Inc. went to buy insurance, the cost was $1,400.

"We went from zero to $1,400 for insurance, and that was a problem," he said.

Colbert praised the cooperation he received from city government, particularly from Mayor Joyce Rogers, City Manager Frank DiGiovanni and Parks and Recreation Director Pati Smith.

Colbert said he hopes the county's two Irish social clubs will work together in 2003 to form a high-quality parade.

"I'm optimistic about next year," Colbert said.

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