Sunday March 17, 2013 at 1PM starting at South Park in downtown Lawrence, KS The Lawrence St. Patrick's Day Parade began in 1988 While a few friends of Irish heritage sat in a local pub enjoying a frothy pint. Finbar Collins, Bill Sullivan, and Wink Guenther collaborated with local businessmen Wes Kabler, Gene Shaughnessy and Mike Jones to hatch the plan that would become a long-standing tradition in Lawrence. On March 17, 1988 snow and sleet greeted the parade participants yet the determined Irish spirit prevailed. With Uncle Wesley on his white steed, the floats and parade attendants braved the wicked weather and completed their trek. One couple, Alan Johnson and Terri Wilson, even exchanged marriage vows while balancing atop a float!