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| Updated: 7/16/2012 7:22 pm |
Published: 7/16/2012 4:14 pm |
HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK, AR - “Two ‘10’s for the 10th” is the theme for next spring’s First Ever 10th Annual World’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade in downtown Hot Springs.
Bo Derek and John Corbett, the two most popular celebrity grand marshals the internationally acclaimed parade has ever had, will return together to lead the big parade over its tiny route on March 17.
“The parade committee was deadlocked on who to invite as the celebrity marshal for this landmark 10th anniversary event,” said Steve Arrison, CEO of Visit Hot Springs. “The women wanted John Corbett to come back and the men wanted Bo Derek. So we decided to invite both Bo and John to return.”
“They both fell in love with Hot Springs when they led the parade in 2010 and 2011,” Arrison said, “and the crowds were pumped up by the great way they interacted with the people.
“We’ve had some great celebrity marshals, but none of them has been so well-received as Bo and John.”
Derek soared to legendary fame in her movie, “10,” in which she played the perfect woman. Corbett has dozens of movie and TV credits to his name, including “Northern Exposure,” the TV series in which he first became a star.
The World’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which traverses world-famous Bridge Street — all 98 feet of it — has gained worldwide attention since the first edition was organized in 2003.
Thousands of people flock to the downtown area each March 17 to celebrate the unfettered sense of fun and wackitude that the parade generates.
The parade has been recognized worldwide with numerous international awards. Last year it added another international recognition to its growing list of awards and notices. U.S. News Travel, the online posting by the former U.S. News & World Report Magazine, named the parade No. 8 on the publication’s list of Top 10 America’s Best St. Patrick’s Day Parades.
• In 2005 it was No. 1 in Off the Beaten Path Parades awarded by The Irish Echo
• In 2008 it was named among the Top Ten St. Patrick's Day Parades in the U.S. by AOL
• In 2009 it was named the Quirkiest St. Patrick's Day Parade on Earth by Smithsonian Magazine
• In 2009 it was named No. 2 in its list of Celebrating St. Patrick's Day in the Southeast by the Atlanta Journal Constitution
• For seven consecutive years, it has been selected as one of the Top 20 Events in the Southeast by the Southeast Tourism Society
• In 2010 it was elected No. 8 among the Top 10 Worldwide St. Patrick's Day Celebrations by HotelsCombined.com
• In 2010 the parade received the prestigious Henry Award for Community Tourism Development from the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism
• In 2010 it was designated an Official Southern Travel Treasure by AAA Southern Traveler Magazine
• In 2010 the parade was elected to the list of Top 100 Events and Festivals in North America by the American Bus Association group tour association.
• In 2011 it was named the Arkansas Festival and Event Association’s
2010 Event of the Year.
• In 2011 CNN named it No. 1 among Quirky St. Patrick’s Day Parades.
• In 2011 it was named Most Unusual St. Patrick’s Day Parade by the Irish Echo.
• In 2011 Irish Central named it among the Top 5 St. Patrick’s Day Parades in America.
• In 2011 Business Insider listed it among Eight International St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations You Probably Didn’t Know About.
• The Hispanic website La Informacion.com named it No. 1 among Las Celebraciones Mas Estramboticas del Dia de San Patricio. Estramboticas means weird or extravagant.
• Irish Central in 2012 named it one of America’s “Wackiest” St. Patrick’s Day parades.
For more information about the St. Patrick’s Day Parade visit www.shorteststpats.com or call Steve Arrison at 501-321-2027.
