Molly & Taryn Multimedia Proposal

Background

The St. Louis community takes a lot of pride in their St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. Saturday, March 16th, the 55th annual Downtown St. Louis St. Patrick’s Day Parade took place. This parade is considered one of the biggest in the country with 5000+ parade walkers and floats as well as 250,000 spectators. This downtown parade takes place every Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day and includes floats from various aspects of St. Louis. 

The Dogtown parade takes place on St. Patrick’s Day where many Irish families/clans will display their floats and hand out candy to parade-goers. Dogtown, an Irish section of St. Louis located south of Forest Park, also hosts a parade and Irish festival. Dogtown United, a non-profit organization, organizes the parade which exemplifies and honors the Irish heritage in St. Louis. 

Newsworthiness

The parades took place last weekend in the Downtown St. Louis area, 25 minutes away from Edwardsville so the matter is timely and within our proximity. Many people from St. Louis and the surrounding areas were in attendance at both parades. Another aspect of the newsworthiness of this story is that it is of human interest. Parades are an experience that

bring communities and people together to celebrate many different cultures and backgrounds which express a lot of emotion drawing people to attend and want to read about the event. 

Significance

The St. Patrick’s Day Parades are significant events for local St. Louis residents as well as some from outside the county. The Irish community has had a strong presence in St. Louis since the 19th century. These parades are an occasion in which the Irish can celebrate and exemplify their heritage in the area as well as share the event with others. 

Parades in St. Louis are very popular with the residents as it is an opportunity to be a community and enjoy an outside activity. There are many things to do in the downtown St. Louis area but when a unique event presents itself, such as a parade that only takes place once a year on special occasions, it is significant for the residents. Even in other states and areas or at universities, the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day has become increasingly popular as it is a day shared amongst friends and cultures for a good time. Since the beginning of the year tends to have bad weather and fewer events, people get excited for holidays such as St. Patrick’s Day and the activities that come with the occasion.

Multimedia Proposal

For this project, we are doing a collage of photos from both parades. The pictures will capture the essence, emotion, and experience of both the Downtown and Dogtown parades held in the St. Louis area. The photos will be displayed in a slideshow accompanied by captions from interviews with parade goers as well as people who have participated in the parade. The pictures will display the variety of each parade including the types of floats and people who participated/walked in the parades, as well as the type of people who attend.