Allentown St. Patrick\u2019s Parade to take place March 18<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n February 6, 2018<\/span> (Allentown, PA) The Allentown St. Patrick\u2019s Parade Committee, Inc. announced today that Brian and Kate Johnson are the 2018 King and Queen of the 61st<\/sup> Allentown St. Patrick\u2019s Parade.\u00a0 The Allentown St. Patrick\u2019s Parade will be held March 18, 2018<\/span> and will depart the Allentown Fairgrounds at 1: 30 pm.<\/span><\/p>\n Brian and Kate Johnson both grew up in Allentown; Kate in the 6th<\/sup> Ward and Brian in the Hamilton Park area. Kate\u2019s family has deep roots in the Parade. Her parents, Jim and Betty McGorry, served as King and Queen in 1972. Her aunt and uncle, Joe and Edna McGorry and cousins, Dennis and Maryellen McGorry, were Kings and Queens in 1980 and 2005, respectively.\u00a0 Her uncle, Raymond Cramsey, was one of the original Parade organizers in the 1950s. As a very Irish-looking little girl, Kate served on the \u201ccourts\u201d of her mother and father and many other Kings and Queens in the Parade.\u00a0\u00a0 For many years, the McGorrys held an open house immediately following the Parade. Brian\u2019s sister and brother-in-law, Bob and Cathy Boyle, were King and Queen in 1982 and his sister, Sheila, then a senior at Allentown Central Catholic High School, was the St. Patrick\u2019s Day Observance Society\u2019s queen in 1964.<\/p>\n Brian and Kate met in 1982 and married at Immaculate Conception Church in 1984. Kate grew up in Immaculate Conception Parish and Brian in the Cathedral of St. Catherine of Siena Parish. They both graduated from Allentown Central Catholic High School. They have been members of St. Thomas More Parish for 28 years. They have continuously lived and worked in and around Allentown, Brian first as a lawyer and now as a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Lehigh County, and Kate first as a nurse and now as an admissions manager with Lehigh Valley Hospital Rehabilitation Center. They have four children, Brandon, Sarah, Matthew and Emily.\u00a0 Brian and Kate welcomed their first grandchild, James, last spring.<\/p>\n Kate\u2019s Irish heritage includes the Rodgers line through her mother back to County Donegal and the McGorry line through her father back to County Tyrone. Brian\u2019s Irish heritage includes the Johnson (in Ireland, MacSeain) line through his father back to County Derry and the O\u2019Donnell line through his mother, back to County Donegal. For generations, Kate\u2019s family lived in Allentown and Brian\u2019s in the Hazelton area. Brian\u2019s uncle, Andrew O\u2019Donnell, is responsible for inspiring Brian\u2019s family to move to Allentown in 1961 and for effecting the fateful meeting of Brian and Kate 21 years later.<\/p>\n Brian and Kate will be crowned at the annual Coronation Celebration to be held March 16, 2018<\/span> at the Agricultural Hall Annex at the Allentown Fairgrounds.\u00a0 The Coronation Celebration begins with doors opening at 7:00 pm<\/span> and the Coronation takes place at 9 pm.<\/span>\u00a0 Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door and include a copy of the 2018 St. Patrick\u2019s Parade Program Book, complimentary beer, soda, and a door prize ticket.\u00a0 The event is BYOB.\u00a0 There is no cost for anyone under 21.\u00a0 The Allentown Fairgrounds\/Agricultural Hall Annex is located at 19th<\/sup> and Liberty Streets, Allentown, PA 18104.\u00a0 For tickets to the Coronation Celebration go to www.allentownstpatricksparade.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n For more information about the Coronation Celebration or the 61st<\/sup> \u00a0<\/sup>Allentown St. Patrick\u2019s Parade please contact Jennifer Eck at Jennifer.m.eck@gmail.com or call 610.462.3730<\/a> or go to www.allentownstpatricksdayparade.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n About the Allentown St. Patrick\u2019s Parade<\/strong><\/p>\n The first known St. Patrick\u2019s Parade was held in Allentown in the late 1860\u2019s.\u00a0 Over a century later, in 1955, what we know as the modern day Allentown St. Patrick\u2019s Parade was organized by business and political leaders through the St. Patrick\u2019s Day Observance Society.\u00a0 The Parade ran from 12th<\/sup> and Hamilton Streets to the Immaculate Conception Church on Ridge Avenue.\u00a0 The Parade will celebrate its 61st<\/sup> Anniversary on March 18, 2018<\/span> departing from the Allentown Fairgrounds at 1:30 pm<\/span>, and for the third year the Presenting Sponsor will be GIANT Food Stores.\u00a0 For more information or to participate in the 2018 Allentown St. Patrick\u2019s Parade go to www.allentownstpatricksparade.com<\/a>.\u00a0 Registration to participate in the 2018 Parade is open and can be done by completing the online registration form at www.allentownstpatricksparade.com<\/a> through February 15, 2018<\/span>.\u00a0 The Allentown St. Patrick\u2019s Parade reserves the right to approve all registration submissions.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Information and image provided to TVL by: <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n
\nJennifer Eck
\nJennifer Eck, LLC<\/p>\n
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