Lake Bluff St. Patrick's Day Parade tradition not deterred by snow showers on Sunday

Chicago Tribune

17-03-2025

Sunday's snow showers didn't dampen the spirit of the 7th Annual Lake Bluff St. Patrick's Day Parade in downtown Lake Bluff.
This small but mighty Celtic celebration featured a community parade with marchers, bagpipers, and Irish dancers, all gathering at the Gazebo on the Village Green at noon, before marching through Lake Bluff's downtown business district, and then gathering post-parade at Lake Bluff Brewing Company, at 16 East Scranton Avenue.
Veronica Lilja Brugioni, parade coordinator and owner of the O'Hare School of Irish Dance in Lake Bluff, says this festive tradition was started in 2019, by Lake Bluff resident, David Forlow.
'There are a lot of Irish people in our area, and the celebration of Irish heritage is huge in Chicago and Milwaukee, which are both hubs for St. Patrick's Day festivals,' Brugioni said.
'Lake Bluff is a small town with a lot of spirit, located virtually in between those two cities, so it made sense for us to find a way to celebrate, locally,' Brugioni added.
According to Brugioni, there are many dedicated families affiliated with the O'Hare School of Irish Dance, parents of step dancers and others, who are great supporters of our performances and who personally identify with Irish dance and Irish music. The growing community has become a spinoff from that group.
Brugioni says Irish dance is often a tradition that gets passed down from generation to generation.
'My 93-year-old grandmother is originally from County Carlow, Ireland, I am her namesake, and she is the reason that I got started in Irish dance in the first place,' Brugioni said.
Kathleen Doetsch of Lake Bluff attended Saturday with family.
'This is a great Irish-inspired event close to home, and a great opportunity to support our local step dancers,' Doetsch said.
Parade founders, Christian Erzinger and David Forlow, say they have been Lake Bluff residents and friends for years.
'This is an example of a typical Lake Bluff event, it starts with an idea and then keeps on growing from there,' Erzinger said.
'We had only five participants at the first parade, we marched around the block and then had a beer, and that was the beginning of it all,' Forlow said.
'It was a fun tradition to get started here, and convenient for those who weren't interested in making the trip into the city,' Forlow added.
Organizers say, that from that first parade, the event has grown to become a celebration that includes performances by students from the O'Hare School of Irish Dance and a bagpiper provided by Chicalba Bagpiping Services.
This year's parade was followed by a celebration at Lake Bluff Brewing Company with O'Hare School of Irish Dance performances to traditional Irish music, 'Tell Me Ma,' 'St. Patrick's Day' and 'Riverdance.'
Bagpipe music was provided by Dave Johnston of Chicalba Bagpiping Services.
Mike Dorneker, Lake Bluff Brewing Company's brewer and owner, said this month they celebrate their 15th year in Lake Bluff.
'We are proud that we have become a gathering place for the community, and thank O'Hare School of Irish Dance for solidifying today's celebration with such a wonderful performance in the Irish tradition,' Dorneker said.
Lake Bluff resident Anthony Mastracchio attended Sunday.
'My kids are involved in Irish step dancing, which gives me an excellent excuse to be Irish today, and to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.' Mastracchio said.