While the rest of the world was slicing into pies to celebrate Pi Day, Jeffersonville marked March 14th with its 14th annual St. Patrick’s Day parade. 

Founded by the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Sullivan Brothers, Division 1, the local chapter of the national Irish American Catholic fraternal organization, the Jeff parade has become a harbinger of spring in the village. 

A green painted line appears in the middle of Main Street in early March, a sign not just that the parade returns but of the festivities to come. 

Catholics around the nation remain in the middle of Lent, the 40-day stretch between Ash Wednesday and Easter, when it’s traditional to abstain from indulgences and focus on self growth, but New York Catholics take a break on St. Patrick’s Day to honor their patron saint with a day of revelry. 

In Jeffersonville, that break now includes traditional Irish music courtesy of the Firefighter McPadden Fife & Drum Corps, which travels from Goshen each year to liven up the day, as well as Irish-themed events and eats throughout town.