People lined up on Mentor Avenue on the afternoon of March 16 to watch the Painesville Township St. Patrick’s Day Parade this year. The parade kicked off at the entrance of the Lake County Fairgrounds, 1301 Mentor Ave., at 3 p.m. and proceeded to head west, concluding at Hellriegel’s Inn, 1840 M entor Ave. According to Painesville Township Administrator Hollie Bartone, the township has been hosting the parade for the last decade. “It started off with a couple of local residents who put it together one year and it’s just kind of gone from there,” she said. “It got to the point where it was so big that the township now hosts it.” The parade is the only Lake County St. Patrick’s Day parade and is something the township enjoys putting on for the community, Bartone said. “It’s something that we make sure that we try to put on as many years as possible,” she said. “You’ll see how many people line up on the road. It’s something that the residents really enjoy.” This year's Painesville Township St. Patrick's Day Parade had roughy 40 groups participate in the parade on March 16. (Marah Morrison -- The News-Herald)People lined up on Mentor Avenue on Sunday afternoon to watch the Painesville Township St. Patrick's Day Parade this year. (Marah Morrison -- The News-Herald)This year's Painesville Township St. Patrick's Day Parade had roughy 40 groups participate in the parade on March 16. (Marah Morrison -- The News-Herald)People lined up on Mentor Avenue on Sunday afternoon to watch the Painesville Township St. Patrick's Day Parade this year. (Marah Morrison -- The News-Herald)This year's Painesville Township St. Patrick's Day Parade had roughy 40 groups participate in the parade on March 16. (Marah Morrison -- The News-Herald)This year's Painesville Township St. Patrick's Day Parade had roughy 40 groups participate in the parade on March 16. (Marah Morrison -- The News-Herald)This year's Painesville Township St. Patrick's Day Parade had roughy 40 groups participate in the parade on March 16. (Marah Morrison -- The News-Herald)People lined up on Mentor Avenue on Sunday afternoon to watch the Painesville Township St. Patrick's Day Parade this year. (Marah Morrison -- The News-Herald)Show Caption1 of 8This year's Painesville Township St. Patrick's Day Parade had roughy 40 groups participate in the parade on March 16. (Marah Morrison -- The News-Herald)Expand Roughly 2,000 people watch the parade annually, Bartone said, as they line up from the fairgrounds all the way to Hellriegel’s. “It’s pretty nonstop from here to there,” she said. This year, 40 groups individually signed up to participate in the parade, one of the higher numbers the township has had, Bartone said. “We have a couple of baton twirling groups, we hired a stilt walker for entertainment and the township now owns a foam cannon for our other events, so we’re going to be shooting off green foam at the end of the parade as kind of the finale,” she said. “Of course, lots of Irish music and the Celtic band is going to be here to perform.” The township intends to keep hosting the parade going forward. “These things are made possible from our local businesses who donate or cash donations in order to hire the entertainment we’re able to get,” Bartone said. “If it weren’t for those businesses, we wouldn’t be able to do things like this. We’re grateful for the support for events we like to put on for the residents.” Related Articles Special Olympics Lake County holding annual Big Footer 5K Race and Walk An evening with chef Dante Boccuzzi will help benefit ICASI scholarships Painesville anticipates ‘year of construction and grand openings’ Going to Bat for Small Business returns for 2025 Lake County Captains season Railfest Ohio Train Show at Lakeland Community College a staple in the community ...read more read less