Help needed to make St Patrick's Day parade a success

THE TOWN will be turning green this weekend, as Irish celebrations come to Crawley.

St Patrick's Day will be celebrated with a weekend of events, but now organisers are calling on town residents to make the event extra special.

The annual St Patrick's Day Parade is taking place on Sunday from Crawley bus station outside County Mall at 1pm and promises floats, traditional dancing and live Irish music.

However, the organisers are now asking for people to donate their time to make sure the day goes smoothly.

Crawley's Celtic and Irish Cultural Society chairman, John Nolan said: "The aim of the weekend, apart from having fun or having the craic, is to encourage Crawley's diverse and vibrant community to participate in a greater understanding of Celtic and Irish traditions.

"We want to make the whole day a success and give the people of Crawley and the surrounding areas a parade to remember.

"This year we are looking for some extra help with the parade. Since the police are not as involved this year because of cut-backs in the policing budget we as an organisation are responsible for the traffic management such as attending to the traffic at the roundabouts and as it passes at the major junctions. We are looking for 10 extra members of the public to help in stewarding.

"It's not just an Irish only St Patrick's Parade, it's a parade for the community. One for everyone to enjoy, for the residents and the business fraternity to come on board and work on together. All are welcome."

Anyone who thinks they can help is asked to call John on 01293 513189 or email john.nolan@celtic-irish.co.uk