Mal's St. Paddy's Parade

   St. Patrick's Day parades are a bit different in the south –they throw beads and moon pies! In some cities they throw cabbage ,potatoes, and carrots too, the ingredients for Irish stew. Just beads and pies in Jackson, Mississippi though. This is a big event for the city so if you want a good viewing spot make sure that you arrive about an hour before the parade starts. If you’re lucky enough to get a spot right at the barrier along the street, pull up close or people will push in front of you. Other than that it’s not too crowded. Moving back on the sidewalk will get you a good view of the floats but it’ll be a little too far for catching beads. There are 50 floats and the parade lasts about 1 1/2 hours. The floats aren’t as elaborate as the ones at Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama.

  The parade viewing route is fairly accessible because the sidewalks are wide enough so that there’s still enough room for a wheelchair to maneuver through all of the people. We parked at the fairgrounds which involves going up a steep hill to get to the parade route. The curb cuts are very poor. There are parking lots closer to the route which would be better if you don’t have help pushing.

  The fairgrounds lot has electric hookups, dump access and water faucets. The water faucets are gross, located in boxes below the ground level so they fill up with mud and gunk.Look for faucets on the sides of the buildings if you need to get water. Parking is $10.00 whether you chose to stay overnight or not.  Parade
32.29895, -90.17647
    
                     Too many beers
                           and an extreme lack of porta-potties!