It’s the fourth year in a row that they’ve been stopped
For the fourth year in a row, Ottawa’s traditional St. Patrick’s Day parade and party won’t happen because organizers couldn’t raise enough money to keep up with rising costs.
On CBC Radio’s “Q,” Sean Kealey, president of the Irish Society of the National Capital Region, said:Ottawa MorningWednesday that the power had been turned off Monday night.
He said, “All of the things we use for the party and parade are made by businesses that lost money during COVID and have had to raise their prices to stay in business.”
Kealey said that his group used to be able to get barricades for about $3,500, but now they cost $9,000.
He said that the cost estimates of $25,000 to $30,000 for the parade and $60,000 for the party that followed have not been met with more money.
“It’s expensive for a small group that doesn’t make money from it.” “We’ve always been able to do it, but we just couldn’t this year.”
The society also doesn’t have enough volunteers to put on the events.
Because of COVID-19, the three previous editions had to be canceled.
Some of its Irish Festival events, like trivia, a potluck lunch, and a mass on March 17, are still going on.
“In the last 24 hours, we’ve gotten a lot of support, so we’re very hopeful that we can get things back on track by 2024,” Kealey said.