Posted by: thepinetree on 03/16/2014 09:00 PM
Updated by: thepinetree on 03/17/2014 10:56 PM
Expires: 01/01/2019 12:00 AM
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Murphys Irish Day 2014 Photos & Did Attendance Set A Record?
Murphys, CA....Murphys Irish Day 2014 is in the record books. We have over 700 photos in the photo album below. We hope to give you and opportunity to relive Irish Day 2014, or if you happened to miss it a chance to take in the flavor of the day and make plans to attend next year. Murphys Irish Day has matured into a yearly event for many from all over Northern California to attend. Was it a record setting crowd day? We heard estimates from 14-15,000 all the way to 30,000. Impossible to know exactly but the largest single day event in Calaveras County certainly lived up to it's billing and had thousands upon thousands filling Main Street. The top photo below was taken at 3:30pm looking up Main Street and well after peak crowd volume. The crowd on the street turned at least 2-3 times during the day....
Click Above For Over 700 Photos
The crowd for the parade was kids, grandparents, parents and fans of Small Town Americana that was on display with a liberal coat of Irish Green. Parade staples of Grand Marshals, Beauty Queens, Horses, Fire Trucks, Old Cars, Local Businesses, Bagpipes, Leprechauns, Service Clubs, Pets and more gave the parade great mix..
This crowd gave way to the 20-50 somethings that are the staple of events such as this. After noon groups of bikers on day trips rolled into town. The Nugget was filled and many a leather clad couple strolled the streets. As the afternoon rolled on the party atmosphere inched up in intensity. To help calm this a bit the Murphys Hotel closed their bar from 6-9pm to give the revelers a chance to take in a good meal or seek libations elsewhere before the revelry continued....
The Murphys Business Association can give themselves a well deserved if slightly exhausted pat on the back. This event with business owners, volunteers and community members lifting the organizational loads put on an event that is becoming a well oiled machine. As an example of this one out of town visitor commented on the variety and quality of booths. Another commented on how well timed the parade was. Float after float and entry after entry rolled out of the starting gate right on que. Even a stalled car and couple of no-show didn't interrupt the flow.
Live music stages at each end of town kept the crowd spaced out and as the event matures and grows issues still crop up occasionally during the day but a vigilant, "been there, done that" approach gets resources where and when they are needed. They give minor tweaks to the formula every year to keep it moving forward.
These are not even our best photos as tomorrow we will have another 200 plus professional grade photos and parade video will be added as well.
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