Saturday is St. Patrick’s Day and Downtown Ellijay will be the place for “a little laughter to cheer you, and those you love near you.”

The traditional March 17 holiday will become “St. Petrick’s Day,” which will feature a blessing of the animals, a pet parade, contests, craft and pet service vendors, and store specials.Owners and pets will gather at City Hall at 10:30 a.m. to sign up for the parade. Dressed for the occasion or not, all pets and owners are welcome. The parade will begin at 11. Down Main Street, Father Randy Mattox will conduct the blessing of the animals and Appalachian Animal Hospital will judge pet costumes and talents in several categories All pets can enter in the Best Dressed, Most Unusual Pet, Most Unusual Trick, Best Trick, Smallest Pet, Biggest Pet, Mr. /Ms. Congeniality, Loudest Bark, Shortest Tail, Longest Tail, Longest Ears, Looks Most Like Owner, Cutest, and Best Name categories. Some lucky pet will get the Best in Show Grand Champion award.

The party will include face painting and balloon arts. Pet businesses and nonprofit groups can register to spread the word about their services at information tables.

In addition to pet service vendors, traditional corned beef will be on sale. Some of the downtown restaurants are planning special Irish menus for the day. Vendors can still register through Friday noon. The vendor fee is only $10. There is no charge for registered nonprofit organizations. Applications are available from Albert O’Shields at [email protected], Cartecay River Trading Co. on Main Street, or City Hall. For more information, call the Better Hometown office at 706.635.4711 ext.5.

St. Petrick’s Day
Better Hometown
Mona Lowe
706.635.4711 ext.5 [email protected]