If you live in Anne Arundel County, or perhaps even Maryland in general, you’re probably aware that Annapolis goes above and beyond the typical March 17th celebration for St. Patrick’s Day. This year, all the festive weekend of events took place on the actual weekend of St. Patrick’s Day! Fence & Deck Connection never turns down a good time, or the opportunity to give to a good cause, so our team was decked out in green Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
We were proud to not only donate all of the perimeter fencing for the weekend’s events at City Dock, but also sponsor “Shamrock the Dock” and the main stage for the wonderful music played all weekend long! We also installed vinyl fencing and wood ramps and bridges inside the tent, keeping attendees safe from tripping over any curbs and grassy patches within the area.
We kicked things off Friday, March 15th with the St. Patrick’s Day Hooley at Annapolis City Dock — an evening of traditional Irish food, festivities and shenanigans. There were wonderful musical and dancing acts of all sorts, including violinists, bagpipes, local Irish dance troops, and the main event — Dublin 5’s last concert. Proceeds from the event benefited one of our charitable partners, Warrior Events. As always, the night ended with a procession from the Naptown Brass Band!
After a delicious meal, beverages, music and dancing, the team needed to rest up for another exciting Irish themed day at Shamrock the Dock! Then, on Sunday, March 17th, it was time for the main event: the Annual Annapolis St. Patrick’s Day Parade!
With the help of our friends, family, and charitable partners, the Fence & Deck Connection team built out three floats, two of which we sponsored for two amazing organizations — The Blue Ribbon Project and Warrior Events. A weekend prior, we all gathered to do most of the float building with Warrior Events at our Millersville location. During the parade, we are honored to have the incredible Gold Star Mothers of the Maryland Gold Star Mothers Chapter lead the Warrior Events float. The organization was formed in the 1940s to support grieving families of those in the military. This year’s float was built to honor the sons of the Gold Star Moms — we asked for pictures of their heroes, which we then collaged onto big block letters to spell out HEROES. It was a beautiful tribute to the menu who sacrificed their lives for our freedom.
On the morning of the parade, everyone gathered once again to assemble the main pieces of the float, and to put the finishing decorative touches on all the floats. We also had local Boy Scouts march in front of the floats, pausing to pay homage to the famous photograph of US Marines raising the second American flag on Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World World II.
The weather was absolutely beautiful and it was a perfect day for a parade! Decked out in green, we all walked (and marched) the streets of Annapolis all the way to City Dock for the Shamrock the Dock after party. This year, we decided to “quack up” parade attendees with our “Deck Deck Goose” float! With a 10 foot inflatable duck, we migrated all the way from Maryland Hall to the Shamrock the Duck afterparty! We passed out candy, green duckies, blue pinwheels for the Blue Ribbon Project, flags, hats, scarves, and much more!
We’re already looking forward to next year’s Annapolis St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. Let the countdown begin!