Delray Beach Police Detective Matthew Naparstek monitors the crowd
in front of The Blue Anchor Pub during the city’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
By Tim Pallesen
More children and less alcohol made a better St. Patrick’s Day Parade this year, city officials say.
“The parade went much better since we did away with open alcohol,” Assistant City Manager Bob Barcinski concluded after the March 15 parade.
Unlike last year, the city banned drinking from open containers of alcohol on the sidewalks along the Atlantic Avenue parade route.
Police documented 1,159 violations of the open-container law. Drinkers were simply asked to empty their drink glasses and nobody received a citation.
Bars and restaurants were allowed to serve alcohol inside their businesses. But Police Lt. Scott Privitera said four businesses failed to stop patrons from carrying alcohol when they left the bars and restaurants.
An employee on loan from the Boca Raton Police Department recorded a video of patrons leaving with alcohol from the businesses, Privitera wrote in a March 21 report.
But city officials were pleased overall by the first year when open drinking was banned during a parade that’s become a national attraction on St. Patrick’s Day.
“Our police felt it went better,” Barcinski said. “More positive than in the past.
“We still have a couple little issues,” he added. “I don’t understand why people bring animals.”
A police officer was bitten on the hand trying to stop a pit bull attack on a guinea pig, Privitera said.
Police and parade organizer John Fischer agreed that more children and families attended this year’s parade.
“More children are coming because we’ve been marketing the parade to the School Board,” Fischer said.
Police officers joined firefighters and paramedics for the first time this year as the parade was expanded to include all emergency responders. School children, civic groups and charities also began marching in the annual event.
“We’ve steered the parade to the positive stuff,” Fischer said, “and that’s where it’s going to stay.”
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