‘Delano neighborhood saves the parade,’ though this one will be known as Paddy Day

Ron Knackstedt, director of marketing and events for Xclusive Events, “was super bummed” when he heard the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Delano was ending after almost 15 years.

“We were pretty flattened by it,” said Xclusive co-owner Cody Lathrop. “I had been bringing my kids to it since they were little.”

Then, though, “Ron comes in with a giddy little smile on his face,” Lathrop said.

All over Delano, people have been talking about starting a new parade to replace the one that started in 2007.

“We can help,” Knackstedt said.

Now, thanks to Xclusive taking the organizational lead, it’s going to happen.

The new Delano Paddy Day Parade will be March 11.

Lathrop said his group is “crazy enough to take on the responsibilities,” but he said it’s Delano business owners and others in the area who collectively wanted to do something.

“This is their neighborhood,” he said. “They wanted to keep it going and have the tradition in that area.”

Jake Ramstack, a commercial broker at InSite Real Estate Group, was the first person Lathrop approached.

“They were already pretty full steam ahead on it,” Ramstack said.

He said Lathrop briefly discussed corporate sponsorships, but Ramstack said, “I advised him, ‘No, I would keep it as Delano as possible.’

“We just wanted it to be a neighborhood fun event that helps everybody,” Ramstack said. “Kind of like the Delano neighborhood saves the parade.”

Knackstedt said that “most of the traditional parade is going to be the same,” including the same route and the same green stripes down city streets.

There will be new events around the parade, too — assuming it can all come together in time.

“Basically, it is just starting from scratch,” Knackstedt said.

The hope is to have a local vendor market with artisans and businesses after the parade, a food truck rally, a street party and a kid zone with face painting and chalk art.

Knackstedt said it’s all “to give people a reason to stay in Delano after the parade is over with.”

The Delano vibe

Lisa Slape of the Slape & Howard law firm, which is in the former Aero Plains Brewing building at 117 N. Handley, was one of the people already thinking of ways to save the parade when she connected with Xclusive.

“We moved into Delano last December, and this was one of our exciting things that we were hoping to enjoy,” she said.

The firm moved from an office on South Broadway, in part because it needed more space and in part because of what Slape called the Delano vibe.

“We just connect with this neighborhood.”

She said things like the parade are part of the reason why.

“People don’t know about Delano until they come down here,” Slape said.

The new parade is “going to bring people back out and remembering how time was before COVID.”

The parade hasn’t been held since the pandemic began.

Delano has transformed in that time, with many new businesses and buildings.

“We’ve had a lot of change in the last three years since the last parade,” Ramstack said.

He said everyone wants a chance to show Wichita what Delano has, not only for that day but to give people a reason to return.

“We’d love to shine a light on all the new improvements and just the new businesses down here, which is a lot,” Ramstack said.

Lee Media Group is working on a website, which will be www.delanopaddydayparade.com when it’s done, and a social media presence.

Anyone who wants to learn more can attend the Delano Neighborhood Association meeting at 6:30 Tuesday at Delano’s Diner.

Association president Christopher Parisho said he’s been trying to connect people who are interested in keeping a parade alive.

“It’s obviously been a very popular event for a long time,” he said. “There’s a number of different benefits it can provide.”

The previous parade was known perhaps more for the people who marched or rode their bikes or cars in it than for the floats it had. Ramstack and others would like to change that.

“I’m going to push for a float competition,” he said.

When his kids heard there will be a new parade, they begged to do a float, and Ramstack agreed.

“They’re so excited.”

He said others are, too.

“People are ready to go. They’ll do what it takes to get it done.”