Danbury's, St. Patrick's Day Parade Was Explosive Fun

St. Patrick's Day means different things to different people.

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If you're an Irish-American, it's a source of pride, and a celebration of you culture. If not it can still be fun and mark new beginnings. This year's St. Patrick's Day parade was all of the above. The parade was held Main Street and West Street, ending on Lake Avenue.

The parade took place on Sunday (3/20/22) and was put on by Danbury's Irish cultural club. The Irish club was also where the parade ended, and where the real celebration kicked of.

The parade was short but definitely worth attending. I almost forgot about the event but there was no ignoring it in Downtown Danbury. I saw the different Fire Departments of the area gathering in a parking lot just outside my window.

Everyone was there from Danbury Mayor Dean Esposito to the Easter Bunny. I saw the Mayor and his group but was not able to gather my phone in time, and caught a photo from behind.

Lou Milano

The Easter Bunny AKA Johnny Love was trying to signal me to meet him for a beverage at the Irish Club on Lake Avenue but I was not ready for that. Sometimes, I lose track of time when I party with that bunny.

Lou Milano

My wife Erica and my daughter Vida had fun. The different parade floats were tossing candy to the kids and Vida caught 26 pieces of candy (yes, she counted). Yes, she is wearing Yoda ears.

Lou Milano

The fire trucks were there.

Lou Milano

Danbury P.D. was there making the kids happy and keeping the parade route safe.

Lou Milano

There was also a really cool Hummer rolling through the streets. I told my daughter that this would be our next family vehicle. I'm not sure she understood how serious I was.

Lou Milano

There were Irish marching bands, dance troops and even a Portuguese marching band.

Lou Milano

But the most exciting group was one with a cannon. They fired the cannon multiple times along the route. When they did this in front of us, I got caught off guard. It was a lot more real than I had bargained for.

You had to be there, you would have flinched too. I'm not a loud noises kind of guy and this was beyond loud. The cannon blast reverberated through my chest piece.

What the parade means to me, is a new, and fresh start. Spring is coming and right behind it, summer. This year will be a page turned for all of us and the City of Danbury. I moved to Downtown Danbury to be in the center of the action but I did so in the middle of COVID. All the events and activities that drew my family here were cancelled due to the pandemic. This summer the streets will be teaming with life and I intend to be there for all of it.

Lou Milano

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Photographer Captures the True Grit of Downtown Danbury in Black + White

Recently, I was scrolling through my Instagram feed when I came across a page I’d seen before, one I really enjoy. It’s called @danburystreets

All the posts from @danburystreets tell and intimate and gritty story, portraying life in the Hat City for its reality. If you look at the body of work as a collective, you’ll see good, bad, passion, hurt, anger, commerce and an identity crisis in the streets of Danbury, at least that is what I see.

@danburystreets is run by Renato Ghio of R Media. I knew he was behind it, and it had slipped my mind. So, when I reached out to ask permission to use the photos, I was delighted to get a response from someone I know, and like. Renato said he’d be honored to have his page featured, and provide insight on his work.

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