Not too many cities can come up with a St. Patrick's Day backup place like San Antonio. Indeed, the Texas city is unique in that cancellation of a street parade results in all eyes on a river parade - a green dyed waterway of course.
The shelving of this year's street parade due to mounting costs resulted in participating organizations such as the Harp and Shamrock Society taking to the water.
The river parade, watched by spectators lining the city's famed River Walk, was just one of a number of events planned around St. Patrick's Day. One of the most important was the annual ceremony outside the Alamo where Harp and Shamrock members remembered the 14 Irish immigrants who died defending the fort in 1836. Many more of the defenders were of Irish and Scots Irish descent.
A flavor of the big Irish day in San Antonio can be found on You Tube courtesy of a sponsor of one of the barges in the river parade, makers of a new Irish Whiskey with the long-barreled name of "The Wild Irish Soldiers & Heroes."
You can find coverage on the brand's Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7SFDCPQPGE.
