Makeshift Irishness

The Montreal St. Patrick's Day parade, where Irishness seems to be measured by how many items of green clothing you're wearing, and how publicly drunk you are.

A green-painted Zamboni becomes a float.

Winston Chuchill's Britishness is ignored because of its stronger association as the name of a pub.

The lovely ladies of the Red Hat Society of Quebec, who insist on wearing red hats and purple clothing. They added green to their repertoire for the day.

Big man, big band.

Makeshift Irishness, Part 2

A company that specializes in building bathrooms.
The unspoken credo for company floats: if you can put a shamrock on it, it's Irish.

Africans join in with their can drum float.

Divers! Hope the water was warmer than the outside temperature.

The CTV network float, the most professionally decorated-looking float to acheive the hand-decorated effect.

Mutsumi Takahashi, a Montreal newscaster born in Japan.

The James O'Brown band did not stick to James Brown songs.

Kids blowing their goddamn horns all the time.

You Can Be Irish Too

The St. Patrick's Day parade in Montreal, where members of a marching band wear Gimli beards...

an African priest gets into the spirit to sell his wares...

...and the Ukrainians get their own float.