St patricks day parade houma 2022

Houma's Irish-Italian Parade returns Sunday after a two-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The annual parade, started in its current form in 2011, is a joint celebration of St. Patrick's and St. Joseph's days, the Christian feast days honoring the patron saints of Ireland and Sicily, respectively.

This year, the tradition in which float riders toss and hand various food items to spectators takes on new meaning as residents continue to recover from Hurricane Ida and cope with rising costs due to inflation.

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Celeste Landry, vice president of the Houma Irish-Italian Parading Club, said a record $75,000 worth of food will be thrown at the parade, including the traditional cabbage and potatoes as well as other vegetables, fruits, ramen noodles, pickles and more.

“The parade helps and feeds the community," Landry said. “Especially since Hurricane Ida, people are wanting to give and throw to those in need."

In previous years, people have brought along laundry baskets, fish nets, baseball gloves, large sacks and pillowcases to help catch and carry their parade haul.

The parade's king is Maysin Blum; its queen is Abigayle Ballam. For the first time, the club has a prince and princess, John Foster and M-Kira Ruffin, both clients at the Terrebonne ARC.

“I was excited when I found out I was queen," Ballam said, adding that her parents served as king and queen in 2018. 

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The parade will roll 20 floats carrying more than 300 riders combined.

Landry said the parade has grown more popular over the years, adding that she was amazed by the number of people who stepped up to participate in Sunday's celebration.

“I remember having to beg people to ride, and now we’re packed,” she said.

The parade will start at 1 p.m. at Park Avenue and Westside Boulevard. From there, it follows the familiar west Houma parade route, rolling down Park Avenue and turning right onto Hollywood Road, left onto Main Street and right onto Barrow Street.

Float riders will stop throwing food and trinkets at the Town Hall building, but the parade will continue down Barrow Street to the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center for a private party for club members. [The Courier and Daily Comet previously reported incorrectly that the party is open to the public, but it is for club members only.]

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