St. Patrick's Day Parade - Toronto 2012

Even though the actual St. Patrick's Day is on the 17th of March, Toronto holds it's annual parade a  week earlier. There are plenty of people of Irish lineage, and they came out in droves to celebrate. 

The day commemorates St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. It was declared a feast day in the early seventeenth century, but today it is a more secular celebration of Irish culture.

Green is the color of the day, and everyone wears it. People celebrate by lifting lenten restrictions on food and drinking alcohol. So naturally, people get plastered on this day.

A Titanic float

One of the groups representing various Irish Counties

One of the many marching bands

Hillbillies

Hillbillies 

Hillbillies 

St. Patrick

Festive Pooch

Another festive pooch

Clown. Seriously, he looks pissed and scary

Another marching band of Pipers

The Old and The New - Parade of Firetrucks

Students from one of the many Irish Dancing Schools. If you've never seen Irish dancing you should really check out Riverdance. It's awesome. Watch video here.

Another festive Pooch

Another piper marching band

A Leprechaun

Another Leprechaun

Flower sellers

Another colorful flower seller

DeLorean DMC 12 - The car made famous in the Back to the Future movies. What I didn't know was that it was made in Ireland, designed and built by Irishman John DeLorean. The original company has since gone bust, but an American has bought it and is now re-manufacturing them. Official site.

Student from another Irish dancing school, in colorful costumes.

Beauty Queens

Two Queens?

Student from another Irish dancing school