Entries for the Ventura Elks Lodge’s annual County Ventura St. Patrick’s Day Parade are now being accepted. The parade will commence at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 16, along Main Street in midtown Ventura.
This year’s theme, “Shamrocks & Shenanigans,” gives parade participants an invitation to embrace their inner leprechaun with whimsy and mischief in the creation of their parade entries.
Among the county’s most popular annual community events, the St. Patrick’s Day parade has been a tremendous success since it returned two years ago after two years off, to a route filled with happy, green-garbed families having a wonderful time. This year, the parade will run the same midtown route it has the past two years, downhill along Main, from Lincoln Drive to Fir Street. Beyond Fir and heading into downtown, the party continues after the parade, with dozens of restaurants and other attractions open to everyone along the auto-free downtown streets.
Entry to join in the parade is easy: Prospective entrants can simply go to the parade website and follow the basic steps to submit their forms and pay via PayPal. Entry deadline is Thursday, March 7; the first 100 entries will be accepted.
Our grand marshal this year is the wonderful Elena Brokaw. Executive director of the Museum of Ventura County, Elena is a perennial Ventura County civic leader who before heading up the museum worked with the city of Ventura for 13 years, including as director of Parks, Recreation and Community Partnerships. She’s led the museum since 2016. In 2019, she was named Citizen of the Year, earning the top honor bestowed by the Ventura Chamber of Commerce in its annual prestigious Poinsettia Awards.
For more information on the parade and to enter, visit venturastpatricksdayparade.com.
If you have any entry questions, call parade coordinator Brian Brennan at 805-746-5955 or committee member Aaron Gaston at 805-340-8217. For other parade info, call Jim Monahan at 805-340-1356.
