South Side Irish Binge Drinking & Vomiting Parade gets an early boost

On a picture postcard Saturday, Jim “Skinny” Sheahan was hoping for rain.

It’s not that he wanted to wash out anybody’s late summer cookout. The former director of the Chicago Mayor’s Office of Special Events just thought a few raindrops would boost attendance at the Halfway to the South Side Irish Parade Party.

It turns out his concern was for naught as, despite sunny skies, 115 Bourbon Street in Merrionette Park saw a steady stream of folks who paid $30 each to attend the party.

The lure of a buffet, unlimited beer, wine or soda and the music of The Larkin & Moran Brothers was strong. Even stronger, Sheahan said, is the sense of community. The parade will be held March 10 down Western Avenue in the Beverly and Morgan Park communities of Chicago’s 19th Ward.

“This is so important to the neighborhood, the fabric of the neighborhood. Everybody wants something we can be proud of, and that’s what our intention is. This gets them a little fired up. I know there’s a million things to do today. Actually, I hoped it was going to rain, but we’ll get 200, 300 people in here,” Sheahan said.

Glancing around at the crowd, he smiled.

“This is good. It gets people in the mood for the parade. The parade was such a success this year. We’ll do the zero tolerance again. It really made a difference,” said Sheahan, one of the people behind the parade’s return this year.

The retooled parade returned in March after a two-year absence. What had been a cozy neighborhood event had become a beer-drenched day marred by dozens of arrests for drinking in 2009. That wasn’t the case this year. The lone arrest was for public urination two hours after the parade was over.

Ald. Matt O’Shea (19th), who initially opposed the parade’s return, now welcomes it with open arms. He is a man who likes to make decisions on poll numbers and not what he thinks.

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