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<p>PITTSTON &#8212; Despite below-freezing temperatures, the fourth annual Pittston St. Patrick&#8217;s Parade persisted &#8212; and the green-clad crowd was rewarded for its bravery with another year of song, dance, shirts, hats and candy. A lot of candy.</p><p>Marching bands, social clubs, youth sports organizations and more paraded down Main Street, fighting against wind, temperatures in the low 20s and, as the parade came to a conclusion, a brief dusting of snow. City Event Coordinator Sarah Donahue said there&#8217;s no way to prepare for the weather, but she was still pleased with the event&#8217;s reception.</p><p>&#8220;We had a good turnout and people came with so much positive energy,&#8221; she said.</p><p>Neither Donahue nor Pittston City Police could give an estimated public attendance. Purple Squirrel Pastry Company&#8217;s Cindi Pape said she usually starts serving customers around 8 a.m. on parade day, but she didn&#8217;t experience steady business until around 11 a.m. Pape said parade day is still a big deal for the pastry company, which sits on the parade route at 8 N. Main St., despite the weather.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s nice because people will come down and not even know we were here, or a lot of the other small businesses are here,&#8221; Pape said. &#8220;It&#8217;s great for us.&#8221;</p><p>The Purple Squirrel goes green for parade day with festive cupcakes and cookies. Pape said her biggest seller is usually hot cocoa; her staff spends &#8220;hours, hours and hours&#8221; preparing it for the day&#8217;s event.</p><p>When it comes to the parade itself, the St. Patrick&#8217;s Parade Committee works every year preparing the mobile celebration that passes by The Purple Squirrel and other businesses on the city&#8217;s Main Street. For the 2017 parade, the committee chose Tom Reilly, president of Reilly and Associates engineering and a friend to the parade committee, as grand marshal.</p><p>&#8220;I think we should make a movie out of this, it&#8217;s so nice,&#8221; Reilly said as he rode down Main Street atop a convertible.</p><p>Reilly wasn&#8217;t the only person seemingly unaffected by the cold. Duryea resident Tyler Resciniti, 20, was dressed in little more than a green body suit covered in shamrocks. Parade participants pointed at Resciniti as they drove by, acknowledging his dedication to the celebration. The Penn State student, home for spring break, was attending his first Pittston St. Patrick&#8217;s Parade.</p><p>&#8220;I thought I was going to come scare some children today when, instead, they want to get pictures with me,&#8221; Resciniti said. &#8220;I think I&#8217;m just going to run up and down Main Street.&#8221;</p><p>Resciniti may have won Best Costume if he ran in the Leprechaun Loop 5k Run/Walk, held an hour before the parade began. The event started in front of Greater Pittston YMCA and looped onto Kennedy Boulevard before circling back to the YMCA. Run/Walk Coordinator Tiffany Ferentino said approximately 200 participants took part in the event, including 11-year-old Pittston resident Aiden O&#8217;Hare.</p><p>O&#8217;Hare&#8217;s goal was to beat eight minutes. His strategy?</p><p>&#8220;Drop anchor at the Columbus statue,&#8221; O&#8217;Hare said at the conclusion of the race. &#8220;I ran from there to here really fast.&#8221;</p><p>O&#8217;Hare said his goal next year is to &#8220;do the same thing.&#8221;</p><p>There&#8217;s something to be said for consistency; hopefully, Mother Nature&#8217;s goal for the 2018 parade doesn&#8217;t involve another below-freezing high temperature.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">The Wyoming Valley Pipe &amp; Drum Band makes its way down Pittston&#8217;s Main Street during the St. Patrick&#8217;s Parade. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_PSD030517Parade2-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>The Wyoming Valley Pipe &amp; Drum Band makes its way down Pittston&#8217;s Main Street during the St. Patrick&#8217;s Parade. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | Sunday Dispatch </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_PSD030517Parade4-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Ashley Glidewell, of Exeter, and her boyfriend, Brad Rhodes, of Forty Fort, bundle up while watching the parade. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_PSD030517Parade4-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Ashley Glidewell, of Exeter, and her boyfriend, Brad Rhodes, of Forty Fort, bundle up while watching the parade. </caption1><photoCredit1>Sean McKeag | Sunday Dispatch </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_PSD030517Parade5-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Cody Stofko and Jonah Rosengrant pose for a photograph during the parade. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_PSD030517Parade5-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Cody Stofko and Jonah Rosengrant pose for a photograph during the parade. </caption2><photoCredit2>Sean McKeag | Sunday Dispatch </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_PSD030517Parade6-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Joseph Vitek, of Jenkins Township, greets passerybys during the parade. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_PSD030517Parade6-1.jpg</photo3><caption3>Joseph Vitek, of Jenkins Township, greets passerybys during the parade. </caption3><photoCredit3>Sean McKeag | Sunday Dispatch </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_PSD030517Parade8-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The St. Patrick&#8217;s Parade makes its way through downtown Pittston. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_PSD030517Parade8-1.jpg</photo4><caption4>The St. Patrick&#8217;s Parade makes its way through downtown Pittston. </caption4><photoCredit4>Sean McKeag | Sunday Dispatch </photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_PSD030517Parade9-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Tyler Resciniti, of Duryea, poses in his St. Patrick&#8217;s Day costume before the parade. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_PSD030517Parade9-1.jpg</photo5><caption5>Tyler Resciniti, of Duryea, poses in his St. Patrick&#8217;s Day costume before the parade. </caption5><photoCredit5>Sean McKeag | Sunday Dispatch </photoCredit5></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_TTL030517Parade1-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">A donkey, wearing a St. Patick&#8217;s Day hat, rides in the back of a trailer from Young&#8217;s Funny Farm. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo6>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_TTL030517Parade1-1.jpg</photo6><caption6>A donkey, wearing a St. Patick&#8217;s Day hat, rides in the back of a trailer from Young&#8217;s Funny Farm. </caption6><photoCredit6>Sean McKeag | Sunday Dispatch </photoCredit6></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_TTL030517Parade2-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Bagpipers play down Pittston&#8217;s Main Street. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo7>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_TTL030517Parade2-1.jpg</photo7><caption7>Bagpipers play down Pittston&#8217;s Main Street. </caption7><photoCredit7>Sean McKeag | Sunday Dispatch </photoCredit7></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_PSD030517Parade1-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Brooke Reilly, 7, of Shavertown, finishes the walking portion of the Leprechaun Loop before the St. Patrick&#8217;s Parade in Pittston on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo8>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_PSD030517Parade1-1.jpg</photo8><caption8>Brooke Reilly, 7, of Shavertown, finishes the walking portion of the Leprechaun Loop before the St. Patrick&#8217;s Parade in Pittston on Saturday. </caption8><photoCredit8>Sean McKeag | Sunday Dispatch </photoCredit8></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Gene Axton</p><p>gaxton@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Gene Axton at 570-991-6406 or on Twitter @GeneAxtonTL.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

St. Patrick’s Parade in Pittston was a chilly one this year