Save the Date -- Irish Parade's on March 11 This Year

Mark your calendars -- this year's will be held March 11 and it's not too late to register as a participant.

As has been the case for the last 10 years, the parade will feature floats, bands, bagpipes, dancers and the bike rodeo that was one the event's hallmarks when it was first held as neighborhood block party in 2002.

Also as has been done in years' past, there will be a St. Baldrick's Foundation fundraiser, in which volunteers raise money for childhood cancer research by having their heads shaved. This year, the event is being sponsored by the Knights of Columbus Holy Spirit Council and will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the former fire station No. 1 on Des Plaines Street.

The downtown parade steps off at 1 p.m. and this year there will be four bagpipe bands and the possibility of a drum-and-bugle corps as well as the usual assortment of marchers and floats.

After the parade, there will be a pub crawl for the adults and an inflatable bouncer for the kids.

Parade entries are being accepted by sponsors Village Preservation Association and through March 7 for floats, marchers, and musical and dancing groups. Each must have an Irish theme and pay $35 to cover the cost of staging the event (the only exception are the bicyclists, who can enter for free).

For more information, go to www.plainfieldirishparade.org or call 815-436-5510.

To register for the St. Baldrick's fundraiser, go to www.stbaldricks.org/events/mypage/eventid/8012/eventyear/2012 or call 815-254-1932 or 630-842-4773.