Savannah slows the party, plays up patriotism for St. Pat's

SAVANNAH - Crowds on the magnolia-lined sidewalks still wore green, but their biggest cheers during the nation&#39;s second-largest St. Patrick&#39;s Day parade were reserved for marchers wearing camouflage and police blues. <br> <br> For all its reputation as a post-Mardi Gras beer bash, Savannah celebrated St. Pat&#39;s on Saturday by playing up patriotism and toning down the beer-swilling shenanigans. <br> <br> Clowns, pirates and go-cart driving Shriners, who in previous years dominated the 3.5-mile parade route, were out. In their place marched firefighters, Army Rangers and police officers behind star-spangled floats draped in red, white and blue. <br> <br> ``We heard St. Patrick&#39;s Day is over the top down here, and we&#39;ve had an unbelievable reception from people,&#39;&#39; said New York police officer Jack Bishop, pausing for photos and lipstick-smeared kisses from women rushing out of the crowd. <br> <br> Bishop said he and two fellow New York officers had come to Savannah for a taste of Southern hospitality and decided to join the parade spontaneously. ``We just brought the uniforms and fell right in.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Savannah expected up to 500,000 people for the parade, a 178-year tradition in this coastal city, to help pull its vital tourism industry out of a six-month slump since Sept. 11. <br> <br> The oak-shaded squares were packed as usual with people wearing green beads and bowler hats, carrying plastic cups of green beer. But the crowds seemed less rowdy, in some spots quieter than the idling motors of trucks towing parade floats. <br> <br> ``They&#39;re not as boisterous, not as gregarious,&#39;&#39; said Lynda Bashoor of Scranton, Pa., who has sold souvenir headbands here for the past three years. ``I see more families here ... less drinking and imbibing.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Some locals blamed the subdued St. Pat&#39;s on the absence of local Shriners, considered the life of the party by many for their antics as clowns, pirates and Keystone Kops. The civic club pulled out of this year&#39;s parade when organizers asked them to limit their numbers. <br> <br> ``If they don&#39;t bring the Shriners back (next year), I&#39;m not coming,&#39;&#39; said Kelli Johnson, watching from her Greek statuary store on the parade route. ``I&#39;ve been inside most of the day because it&#39;s boring.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Ted ``Tooth Fairy&#39;&#39; Baker refused to be erin-go-blah. Wearing a fluorescent green wig and knee-length green dress, he wheeled a beer keg in a shopping cart through the crowd, filling the cups of buddies from his running club, similarly dressed in drag. <br> <br> ``We&#39;re on our third keg,&#39;&#39; Baker said at noon. ``We blew two last night and we&#39;ve got three left over.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The gaudy green crowds still lined up outside bars on Savannah&#39;s cobblestone riverfront, normally the city&#39;s most boisterous party spot, after security guards checked their purses and backpacks at gated entrances. <br> <br> But there wasn&#39;t as much green coming out of revelers&#39; wallets as vendors had hoped. <br> <br> ``Things are off about 10 percent from last year,&#39;&#39; said Gordon Varnedoe, head of the Savannah Waterfront Association, which kicked off its St. Pat&#39;s festival Thursday. ``But it&#39;s safe and we&#39;ve had no major incidents. From that standpoint we feel very lucky.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Varnedoe said lower attendance might have resulted from confusion because St. Patrick&#39;s Day falls on Sunday, while the city kept with its tradition of holding the parade Saturday. <br> <br> He said spending was healthy enough for vendors to turn a profit. ``Whether it would be enough this one weekend to recoup some of the slow winter, that I can&#39;t answer.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Outside Diane Bailey&#39;s riverfront shop, E.J. Scandals, women wearing bikini tops tried to lure crowds with signs exclaiming ``Hot Girls!! Cold Beer!!&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The shop&#39;s normally a women&#39;s boutique. This weekend, Bailey installed a plywood bar in hopes of recouping lost sales since Sept. 11. She said she&#39;d sold enough Budweiser to empty 27 kegs since Thursday. But she&#39;d hoped to sell almost twice as much. <br> <br> ``It&#39;s better than I really expected at night you can&#39;t even get in here,&#39;&#39; said Bailey, who opened her makeshift saloon at 8 a.m. ``Our goal was $25,000, and we&#39;re not going to do that. <br> <br> ``We&#39;re not out of debt,&#39;&#39; she said. ``That&#39;s for sure.&#39;&#39;