MISSION VIEJO : 20,000 Expected at St. Patrick’s Parade

A St. Patrick’s Day parade that started because of a $10 bet celebrates its 21st anniversary Saturday, and organizers are predicting that 20,000 people will attend the event.

The Mission Viejo St. Patrick’s Day Parade began in 1970 when one community resident bet another that no more than 200 people would join an Irish march down one of the community’s main thoroughfares. More than 2,000 people showed up that day, however, and the parade has become a staple of South Orange County’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities.

“Practically every kid in South Orange County has been in that parade at some point or another,” said John Ben, a longtime Mission Viejo resident and one of the parade’s organizers. “It’s become quite a tradition.”

This year’s parade will take off at noon Saturday from the corner of Alicia Parkway and Olympiad Road and proceed toward Lake Mission Viejo, where it will wind up near the shore. More than 6,000 marchers are expected. The Disney cartoon character Roger Rabbit will be this year’s grand marshal.

Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Shriners, equestrian groups, high school bands, floats and local dignitaries are among the 148 entries in the parade. Prizes will be awarded for the best band and for other categories. The group deemed most humorous will receive the parade’s prized Leprechaun.

“Everybody’s Irish for the day,” Ben said. “We’ve got a real good Irish flavor here in Mission Viejo.”