Northwest Side Irish for a Day!

Last week's Northwest Side Irish parade had a little bit of everything and a lot of fun.  The 11th annual event is a "celebration of faith, family and heritage" on the northwest side of Chicago.  My lack of Irish roots did not prevent me from joining the celebration.

NWSI Grand Marshal was United States Army, Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff, Col. Adam Rocke.  I had the honor and privilege of talking to Col. Rocke prior to the parade and interviewing him at the after-party.  Col. Rocke talked about two projects near to his heart.

Soldier for Life is a program to help veterans and their families transition back into civilian life.  Hero to Hired is the Army's employment portal to connect veterans with potential employers.  Col. Rocke's dedication to his country and those who have served deserves all of the recognition possible.

The NWSI Special Celebrity Guest was Joel Murray.  The area native is the youngest of the acting Murray brothers.  An actor, producer, writer and more, Murray returned to his Chicago roots much to the delight of the crowd and especially Daniel Murray, co-founder of Northwest Side Irish and father of Liz Murray-Belcaster,

I had the pleasure of interviewing Murray at the after-party, thanks to the effort of Ms. Belcaster.  Murray talked about returning to Chicago for the parade, his role on tv's Mad Men and much more.  He even gave me a little bit of his famous Chester the Cheetah.  How cool is that?!

I attended the parade as part of the Resistance Pro Wrestling contingent.  Because of the frigid temperatures, we  traveled the parade route in a trolley, but that did not dampen the fun had by the crowd lining the path or by us.  R Pro wrestler Eric St. Vaughn was even kind enough to get off the trolley for some pictures with young fans.

The fun did not end when the parade did thanks to the after-party at the Immaculate Conception Rec Center.  Food, beverages, bagpipers and more kept the celebration going.

It was a great day thanks to the hard work of all involved.  The parade committee should be applauded.

I am grateful to have been invited by Ms. Belcaster and Resistance Pro.  I am proud to have been involved in something honoring our veterans.  I enjoyed spending time with so many friends (new and old).  I felt embraced by the Northwest Side Irish community who allowed me to be Irish for a day.  It was a great day for this Polish-Italian guy from the southeast side of Chicago.

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