Parade Draws Thousands Eager to Wear Their Green : Ventura: Spectator participation and a diverse field of entries add a whimsical tone to city’s 5th annual salute to St. Patrick.

Irwin Hirschfield, former president of a B’nai B’rith chapter in New York, claims no Irish heritage.

But on Saturday, the 67-year-old Ventura resident was sporting a green shirt, green tie and green yarmulke as he watched the city’s St. Patrick’s Day parade.

“It’s a happy holiday,” Hirschfield said. “I feel I should get into the celebration.”

Most of the estimated 7,000 spectators agreed with him, judging by their efforts to include something green--even lime or turquoise--in their outfits as they lined the seven-block route through downtown.

Spectator participation makes the 5-year-old St. Patrick’s Day parade different from more established parades in Ventura County, some viewers and participants said.

“People love this,” said Yetive Hendricks of Ventura, who wore green slacks and a green shirt. “It gives you a chance for some input--to wear green. You can be a leprechaun. You don’t have to be staid or boring. You can be whimsical. People will just say, ‘Oh, they’re Irish.’ ”

Hendricks actually is of Irish descent, but many of those decked out in green said they have no Gaelic connection.

“I’m just a plain old hillbilly from Tennessee,” said Joe Wilson of Fillmore, who wore the same outfit he pulls out of his closet every year at St. Patrick’s Day: green pants, a green shirt and green suspenders, plus several shamrock pins. In keeping with the parade’s “At the End of the Rainbow” theme, Wilson augmented his ensemble this year with a metal pot filled with gold-wrapped candy.

“The public needs something like this to boost morale,” he said. “We need more parades.”

This year’s parade had more entries--74--and a wider variety of entries than previous events, said Bob Cornett, a member of the County Ventura St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee. “This one, with all modesty, was the best we’ve had so far,” he said.

Maureen Thurston, president of the Irish American Club of Ventura County, agreed. “They’ve really got it organized,” said Thurston, who rode in the parade.

She had no figures on how many Ventura County residents are of Irish descent. “There’s a lot of Irish out here,” Thurston said.

Although her native town of Boston has a huge Irish population--and a much larger parade--Thurston said she likes Ventura’s better.

“It’s not quite so formal,” she said, “and a lot more fun. There’s no controversy here.”

As if to prove her point, a Jeep carrying several members of the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Veterans of America passed by shortly after she spoke, drawing a few cheers but no jeers from spectators. St. Patrick’s Day parades in New York and Boston have been wracked with controversy over their efforts to bar such groups.

Ventura’s parade is open to just about anybody willing to pay the $25 entry fee, Cornett said. In addition to high school marching bands and drill teams, Saturday’s lineup included floats from several bars, one of which featured a rock band while another had country-Western dancers.

There were fire engines, antique cars, vehicles promoting businesses and, of course, a float bearing the inflated green pig that has become a symbol of the Ventura parade. The parade was dedicated to Arnold Hubbard, the RV park owner and parade co-founder who died on St. Patrick’s Day last year.

Angela Meeks was riding on the Boys & Girls Club of Ventura float. Now 11, she has been in every St. Patrick’s Day parade since the Ventura event began. From a float, Angela said, “You get to see a lot of people.”

Despite her parade experience, Angela said she did not know much about St. Patrick until recently. That’s when the club’s art director, Valinda Gallea, decided that the children on the float ought to know something about the 5th-Century priest.

St. Patrick is credited with converting the Irish to Christianity. But Angela remembers another feat ascribed to the saint. “He drove the snakes out of Ireland,” she said.

Perhaps no one at Saturday’s parade had been to more St. Patrick’s Day observances than Gerry Mulrooney, 58, who six months ago emigrated from the Irish town of Newbridge, in County Clare, to Santa Paula.

“This is my first parade outside Ireland,” Mulrooney said, speaking with a brogue. “This was gay. It was real fun.”

He was a bit surprised that Ventura’s St. Patrick’s Day parade was not held on St. Patrick’s Day--March 17. Cornett said organizers believe the event must be held on a weekend to promote attendance.

Another difference, Mulrooney said, is all the green he saw at the Ventura parade. In Ireland, he said, “We don’t wear that much green. The whole place is green.”