NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WPDE) — This year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival in North Myrtle Beach brought an economic boost to the city.
More than 100 parade floats, 130 vendors, and around 35,000 people lined Main Street starting at 9 a.m. Saturday.
The city’s special events manager, Angel Sylvester, said the event turned into a tradition and a staple for the city.
“We bring thousands to the area. A lot of visitors sometimes introduce them to North Myrtle Beach, sometimes, they make it a tradition to come in. Hopefully, we are filling hotels people are going to eat at,” Sylvester said.
Sylvester said the event is not only a way to bring the community together, but also a way businesses and organizations can promote themselves.
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Owner of Kute N Klassy Bows, Kristen Coon, says she has been a vendor at the parade and festival the past 13 years and coming here helps her business grow year after year.
“Once they see my business and buy bows from me they come back each year looking for me to buy more,” Coon explained.
Kute N Klassy Bows isn’t the only business seeing a positive impact by vending at the parade and festival. Marketing Director at Carolina Energy Conservation, Fran Bailey sees it too.
“It’s definitely about our brand being out there at Carolina Energy Conservatio. We see so many of our customers. We have been in business 17 years and so having everybody stop by and say how much they love our solar tubes and attic insulation keeping them cool during the summer time. It’s a really great time out here,” Bailey said.
Sylvester said this isn’t a profitable event, meaning the event itself makes no money, but that they do this for the economic impact it has on the city.