When in Rice, do as the Irish do: dress in bright shamrock green, drink green beer and kick your heels up like a bunch of leprechauns.
Well, that tends to be true for the Heritage Day celebration and parade. There’s no rule that says you have to act or look Irish, but most of the Germans, Poles and Slovenians who gather for the celebration go with the flow. What the heck. Why not?
“I’m full-blooded German, but I’m going to be Irish today,” said Janet Schlicting of Sauk Rapids, enjoying a beer in O’Brien’s Pub and Grill in Rice.
The Ackerman family of Rice felt the same way, as they waited curbside for the Heritage Day Parade to appear. Parents Nate and Erica wore green as did Wyatt, Zander and Alayna, but the twins in a double stroller, Myla and Brynn, were wearing bright neon-purple winter coats with hoods.
“Look, there’s two purple leprechauns,” someone said, pointing at the twins.
Mother Erica chuckled.
“It’s close enough to St. Pat’s Day so it’s a good time to wear green,” she said. “Except for the twins with their purple coats.”
Keith O’Brien, who owns O’Brien’s Pub and Grill with wife Kristi began Heritage Day and Parade years ago, and it’s since become an annual tradition, Irish or not. Keith, Irish to the gills, stood curbside chatting with others gathered for the parade. He was wearing a dark green plaid kilt.
“Oh, yes, I’m Irish,” he said. “With a name like O’Brien I better be. But this is a day for everybody in Rice, not just the Irish.”
The parade, led by a spanking new Rice fire truck, included a couple dozen units, including a snazzy red sportster driven by two grown leprechauns, kids on snowmobiles carried on a flatbed and other fun vehicles. Later, many went into O’Brien’s where they enjoyed Irish stew, drinks, live music and prizes.
Dalman was born and raised in South St. Cloud, graduated from St. Cloud Tech High School, then graduated from St. Cloud State University with a degree in English (emphasis on American and British literature) and mass communications (emphasis on print journalism). He studied in London, England for a year (1980-81) where he concentrated on British literature, political science, the history of Great Britain and wrote a book-length study of the British writer V.S. Naipaul. Dalman has been a reporter and weekly columnist for more than 30 years and worked for 16 of those years for the Alexandria Echo Press.