By Steve Metsch
Bea Keenan said it’s “so cool, such an honor” having been selected queen of Countryside’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade at the Countryside City Council meeting Wednesday night.
The parade, with a record 68 entries, steps off at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Bea will ride on a float with her royal court of Dylan Rafferty and cousin Marya Keenan along with parade princess Ainsley Wilson.
“I’m really excited. I just think it’s super cool,” Bea Keenan said.
Bea, 15, of La Grange Park, is a sophomore at Nazareth Academy. She is on the Hinsdale Hospital Junior Board and enjoys competitive dancing.
Marya Keenan, 14, of La Grange Park, is also on the junior board at Hinsdale Hospital.
Marya works at WLTL radio station at Lyons Township High School where she is a freshman.
“I think it’s going to be real fun, exciting,” Marya said.
Rafferty, 15, of Westmont, is a sophomore at Westmont High School where she is a cheer captain. She also is an Irish dancer.
“It’s pretty awesome. I’ve never done this before. Pretty cool,” she said.
The girls filled out applications to be selected. Rafferty learned of it through her Irish dance teacher.
Another Irish dancer is Ainsley Wilson, 8, of Countryside,
The second-grader at St. John’s Lutheran School in La Grange has been dancing for two years. Asked what she likes about dancing, she replied “everything.”
She and her sister, Ember, practice Irish dancing on a stage that their father, Mike, built in their home.
During the city council meeting, Ainsley danced an Irish gig while city engineer John Fitzgerald played the mandolin.
After that, Lyons Police Chief Tom Herion, a piper for the Chicago Garda Pipes and Drums, led the girls on a procession out of the council chamber as he played the bagpipes.
Saturday’s parade has a staging area on 55th Place and Edgewood Avenue.
The route is east on 55th Place, south on Park Avenue, northwest on Plainfield Road, a sharp south on Brainard Avenue, then east and south on Longwood Drive back down to Brainard and ending at 63rd Street.
A free trolley will run from 2 to 7 p.m. Saturday to take people to various watering holes around the city.
Premier Catering & Events will have bagpipes, Irish dancers and live music.
Family-friendly entertainment will be at the Flagg Creek Golf Course Clubhouse.
Food and drink specials will be offered at Jameson’s Charhouse, The Mood and Time Out Sports Bar.
Irish music will be heard at Rafferty’s Irish Pub.
Uncle John’s Sports Bar will offer $1 tacos and $5 shots of Irish whiskey.
Wolf’s Head will have $10 domestic beer buckets, along with half-price wings and potato skins.
Grand Marshal Jim Durkan, of Burr Ridge, is a longtime friend of Mayor Sean McDermott and has been involved in planning and organizing the previous seven parades.
“We had one day when poor Jim was sitting out there, I think he probably thought he was on the Atlantic Ocean with the wind and the rain,” McDermott said.
McDermott, who said the queen announcement “is my favorite meeting of the year,” wore a green tie for the event.
Also wearing a green tie was Ald. John Finn (1st) whom McDermott thanked “for the outstanding work he has done putting this parade together.”
Finn is parade chairman for a fifth straight year.
“Be careful what you agree to in the city of Countryside,” McDermott quipped.
Each year, the parade raises money for a charity. This year’s recipient will be Pillars Community Health, Finn said.
In other business, the city council approved selling two Toro GM 1000 Walking Green Mowers for $2,800.
The council also approved Home Depot’s request for a temporary outdoor storage area – extending into the parking lot – to sell gardening and other outdoor supplies from March 11 to July 15.
