Meriden Woman Named St. Patrick's Day Parade Queen

Meriden's Fiona Stewart was recently crowned the 2013 Parade Queen this year's Greater New Haven St. Patrick's Day Parade.

The parade is scheduled for Sunday, March 10.

The opening act for this year’s parade, the Irish Ball, will be held on Saturday, March 2 at 8 p.m. at the Yale Commons, 168 Grove Street, New Haven.

Stewart will be introduced at the ball along with her Honor Attendant, Kate Thompson from Shelton.  Both ladies will represent the Irish community at numerous events throughout the year and will be prominently featured in the New Haven parade.

Glenn Conlan of West Haven will receive the Appreciation award for his contributions to the Irish community; Branford resident, Jill Marcus will be presented the James Dinnan Award for outstanding public service; and New Haven Fire Department Battalion Chief, Brian Jooss, will receive the Cornelius Driscoll Award for dedicated public service to his fellow Americans.

The centerpiece of the evening’s activities will be the conferment of the Grand Marshal title on Joseph Michael Lynch, of Branford, for the upcoming parade. Lynch was last year’s parade chairman and has contributed his many talents to various fund raising events while serving on the Parade Committee for over 11 years. This year’s Grand Marshal will be following in the foot steps of his father, the late Michael V. Lynch, 1982 Grand Marshal. It will be the first time in the parade’s long history to bear a father-son relationship in this role.

Dancing to the sound of the Black Velvet Band will continue until midnight. Donation $100 includes Buffet Dinner and Open Bar. The ball is open to the public; for tickets, contact chairman Anne Hines at 203-488-4902 or
ahsheep@aol.com. Tickets can be purchased online at the parade website:www.stpatricksdayparade.org