Mystic Irish Parade Winners Announced

Last Sunday’s 20th annual Mystic Irish Parade stepped off to fantastic success as parade goers from near and far gathered to celebrate Irish heritage. Downtown Mystic was filled with the Irish tricolor and the sounds of bagpipes as hundreds of marchers gathered for another successful parade.

Led by Grand Marshal Bill Turner, the parade included the Fitch and Stonington High School bands, law enforcement, state and regional representatives, members of the armed services, numerous musical bands, acts and floats. mariners. Now that the festivities have concluded, it’s time to announce the winning participants of the 2025 Mystic Irish Parade. The winners are:

    Spirit of Mystic – Hugo A Simonelli III / VFW Post

    Spirit of the Green – Spirited Sole Irish Dance Academy

    Best Pipe Band – Gaelic Highland Pipe Band

    Best Float – Mystic Garden Club

    Parade Ambassador – Knights of Columbus - Father Murphy Council

    People's Choice – Mystic Aquarium

    Best Marching Band – Stonington High School

    Best Musical Float – Crow & Cauldron

    Best Musical Unit – Jammin 107.7

    Most Unique – Academy Point Mystic

    Most Entertaining – Veritable Distilling

    Best Military Salute – City of New Haven Firefighters Emerald Society

    Best Color Guard – Cranston Police Honor Guard

    Best First Responders – Westerly Hand Tub #57 - Westerly Fire Department

    Appreciation Award – Police Pipes & Drums of Waterbury

    Ed Murphy Memorial Award – Duncklee Cooling & Heating / Waterford Country School

    Larry Gemma Memorial Award – Girls on the Run

“We had a great parade this year. The sun was shining, the crowds were energized, it really couldn’t have gone better,” said Vice President of the Mystic Irish Parade Foundation Neil Ryan. “I’m already looking forward to next year.”

The awards ceremony will take place at the Harp & Hound on March 30th at 2:30pm and is open to the public. In addition to the presentation of parade awards, the raffle for the trip to Ireland will be pulled at 4:00pm.

The parade, funded by proceeds from events, the generosity of local business sponsorships and individual sale of raffle tickets, is an annual celebration that has become a community wide cultural tradition. Major sponsors of the parade are: Veritable Distillery, Mystic Transportation, ASA Environmental Products, Levine Distributing Company, Aer Lingus, F&F Distributors, Hall Communications, The Valenti Family of Dealerships, Mystic Aquarium, and Full Power Radio.

Surplus funds from the Mystic Irish Parade are donated to local charities in the area.  For more information, visit www.MysticIrishParade.org.

About the Mystic Irish Parade:

This festive celebration, as well as many other annual area events, are planned and supported by the Mystic Irish Parade Foundation. The Mystic Irish Parade Foundation is 100% volunteer driven, supported by team members dedicated to promoting Irish heritage and organizing a spectacular parade for the community.  The MIPF is a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization and all donations are tax deductible and directly help fund local charities, as well as the annual parade. Excess funds raised are donated to local nonprofit organizations. Please mark your calendars and we look forward to seeing you at these local events!