COUNTING DOWN THE MINUTES TO ST. PATRICK’S DAY – Voice Of The Township

March 17th, St. Patrick’s Day, is on a Friday this year, and there are lots of parties and celebrations planned around Wayne Township. The celebration we particularly watch is the Clover Classic which starts on Thursday night and runs through the weekend. Tony Henry, Wayne Township Trustee Board Member, has hosted this event at Deer Park Irish Pub, for the last 19 years. From the events Facebook Page: “This year under an 11,000+ square foot tent! Our LARGEST tent yet! The celebration will all kick off Thursday, March 16th with a tapping of the first green beer keg of Saint Patrick’s Day! Finding Friday will take the stage in the pub at 6pm and help us celebrate all evening, counting down the minutes to the Shamrock Drop at midnight! Friday will be the big day! Saint Patrick’s Day! Our celebration will start in the morning with Irish coffee, Morning Prayer, and donuts. The tents will open at 10am the party will go on all day long! During the day you will witness classic events such as the keg toss, the shamrock sprint, and the People’s Parade—the world’s shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade! The Deer Park stage will be rocking with live music throughout the day from Secret Mezzanine, Scratch N’ Sniff, and closing out the evening will be DJ DapOne and MSG! The celebration will roll all the way into the weekend with tents opening at 6pm Saturday evening. Live music will open with Hardfall and at 9pm The Band Brother will take over The Deer Park stage! Sunday will be family day and Saint Pet-trick’s Day! Bring your dog for a fun day with the SPCA. Join us for brunch and the talent show. We cannot wait for you to join us for the festivities! Saint Patrick’s Day is our favorite holiday, so we guarantee to do it big!”

In the United States many of our citizens are of Irish descent, over 33 million or 10 percent of the population according to the Census Bureau. So St. Patrick has been an important figure. “Originally a religious holiday to honor the saint who introduced Christianity to Ireland in the fifth century St. Patrick’s Day has evolved into a celebration of all things Irish. The world’s first St. Patrick’s Day parade occurred on March 17, 1762, in New York City, featuring Irish soldiers serving in the English military.” This parade became an annual event, and is still running today. Many of you probably know that Chicago hosts another big to-do on St. Patrick’s Day—even dyeing the Chicago River green for their celebration.

March is Disability Awareness Month
You might have noticed around town this month, a set of posters entitled “I’m Not Your Inspiration.” We have these posters hanging in our lobby this month. They came from the Governor’s Council for People with Disabilities to remind us that March is Disability Awareness Month. When I first read this poster I had to think a minute about what that could mean. After all, isn’t it good to be an inspiration to someone? But as I talked with friends who deal with disabilities, and as I tried to put myself in other people’s shoes, I realized that being someone’s inspiration can be a way of being separate from other people. And really what we all want is not so much to inspire others, but to belong. After all, the more I learn about life the more I come to realize that all of us have issues of one form or another. I think it is more important that we see ourselves and others as human beings, each with our own unique strengths and weaknesses but with a common purpose of welcoming and including one another as we make our way through life.