The calendar says its March 9th. But it felt like March 17th at St. Edward Catholic Church in Little Rock Sunday.
And the "wearin' o' the green" was just the beginning of the St. Patrick's Day celebrations. Clad in traditional Irish regalia, dancers made their way past the pews bringing up communion. All the while, a band in the balcony piped live music into the sanctuary.
Peggy Loyd is one of the players, but she's also the public relations director of the Irish Cultural Society of Arkansas. She says 6 or 7 years ago there was no mass like this. But the Catholic members of the cultural society changed that. "We all started talking about, wouldn't it be great to have an Irish mass or a mass to celebrate the feast day of St. Patrick," she told us.
Church leaders were receptive to the idea and this event was born. With two Irish dance schools in the area, organizers didn't have to look far for talented performers.
After service, everyone headed off to the church basement for a cavalcade of Celtic stepping. And there was plenty of food too: coffee, doughnuts, and Irish soda bread.
St. Patrick didn't drive snakes out of Ireland as many think. He spread Christianity throughout the country quite successfully. That's why you can expect the celebration in the saint's honor to last several days.
There will a parade and more band performances next Saturday. Peggy Loyd says she'll be there and you won't want to miss it either. She encouraged folks to "come on out and join the fun."
The St. Patrick's Day parade is next Saturday, March 15th at 1 p.m. This is the 9th year for the parade.
It will run through the Rivermarket and across the Main Street Bridge into North Little Rock.
