Thousands of partiers gathered Sunday on Syracuse's Tipperary Hill to celebrate what's become our own mini Mardi Gras. As soon as Peter Coleman drew the first pint of green Coors Light from the tanker truck outside his Irish pub, the St. Patrick's Day holiday season in Syracuse had officially begun.
Streets in the West Side neighborhood started filling up at about 11 a.m. as people jockeyed for a spot to watch the 10-minute parade. Irish dancers and bagpipe bands followed grand marshals David Hoyne and Chow Downey and Miss Green Beer 2020 Meghan Price Cass along Tompkins Street from the upside-down traffic light to Coleman's.
Once the tanker arrived, the crowd gathered to watch Coleman pour the ceremonial first pints of green beer. The party then spilled into his pub and into the adjacent parking lot.
By 2 p.m., the temperature had reached 50 degrees and the lines to get into Coleman's stretched for three blocks, longer than the parade itself.
Here are some pictures from the celebration.
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