About 80,000 people turn out for Dallas Mavericks St. Patrick's Parade & Festival
DALLAS – An estimated 80,000 people lined the streets Saturday for the 43rd annual Dallas Mavericks St. Patrick's Parade & Festival, despite the rainy weather. The dreary weather didn't keep people or their furry friends from taking in the luck of the Irish, beginning with a 5K race.
Businesses in the Lower Greenville neighborhood said the event put lots of green in their wallets.
Partezza co-owner Whitney Elfasai felt the magic of the day.
"It's been awesome!" she said. "People are so friendly. Everyone is so nice and welcoming, so it's been really great."
Elfasai was just one of the vendors cashing in at the parade and festival.
"We're selling the cowgirl hats, we have necklaces for shots, we also have some glasses," she shared.
She sold all kinds of green goodies to customers like Anthony Jimenez and Mike Torres, who both flew three hours to take part in the festivities.
"We're both from Jersey," Torres said. "This is my third year coming; It's pretty fun every time. And this is Anthony's first."
"Yeah, it's my first time," Jimenez said. "It's a good vibe. We're trying to enjoy the night."
From food to beads, the vendors and businesses hoped to make some green while selling green—and not just Saturday, but throughout the year.
"This is the biggest day of the year for several businesses up and down Greenville and then the block party, which is a separate event," said Kevin Vela, chairman of the Greenville Avenue Area Business Association. "The Lower Greenville block party, it's a huge, huge day for those businesses down there."
This is Elfasai's first year as a vendor. She hopes the largest parade in the southwest will be her lucky charm.
"We come out here to hand out fliers and really just to market ourselves and get the word out there, to get our name out there," she said. "We hope to build some connections and some relationships, and hopefully we'll get some business from that."
A sea of green lined Greenville Avenue as businesses found their pot of gold.