This Year Could Be The Last Year For The Parade?

Nooooooo!

This could potentially be the last Old First Ward's “Old Neighborhood Parade” that happens the Saturday before the downtown Buffalo St. Patrick's Day. It's a tradition that has been going on for years down in South Buffalo that is concluded with the hooley and party.

Now, organizers are scared that this may be the last one because of financial reasons it seems.

According to WIVB:

It did what I intended it to do. It brought back a lot of community spirit, it brought back a lot of people to the community who were descendants of people born and raised here,” said Peg Overdorf, executive director of Valley Community Association, which organizes the parade.

The organizers say it costs about $18,000 and they only make about $2,500 and at the end of the day, there may be other effective ways to raise funds for the center because, ultimately, that's what the event was organized to do.

The biggest expense is police control which costs for the event about $4,200. This year, the City of Buffalo has given them a pass for this year.