Jadon Exantus had never been in a parade before. So when the four-year old heard about the Second Annual Lucky’s St. Paddy’s Day Parade and Irish Hooley in downtown Rochelle this past Saturday, he had to go.

“This was his first opportunity to ride his bike in a parade,” said his grandmother, Jan Hart, adding that he was going to compete in the bike competition.

With the help of his grandmother, who participated in a homecoming parade when she was in high school, Jaden dressed up both his bike and himself in the appropriate green colors and took part. The parade kicked off the second annual Irish Hooley which was held in downtown Rochelle.

For those who may not know, an Irish Hooley is essentially a party to celebrate the Irish culture with music and dance.

According to parade coordinator DeAna Bingham, there were 25 parade entries, a big increase from last year when there were 17 in the first parade.

“We had 26 register, but one had to cancel at the last minute,” she said.

It was the Bingham family who put the event together in honor of James Bingham, who was born in Ireland and passed away in 2013.

“I always wanted to do something for dad,” said Nancy Bingham, who was in charge of the festival. “I’m sorry he didn’t get to see this.”

Another family member noted that James gained his citizenship two years before he passed away.

Despite 30-degree temperatures – a good 20 degrees below normal for this time of year - a nice crowd turned out for the festival. Besides the parade, there was a variety of activities on Main Street, including games for children, a Leprechaun Land for the Wee Ones, giant picture cutouts that kids could pose with, food booths, and a Hooley tent with Irish dancing and music featuring bag pipes, We3 and Templeton. The Rochelle Performing Arts Academy also performed.

Inside the Living Church, there were arts and crafts, face painting and caricatures by Kevin Berg.

One of the more popular outdoor activities was the Spud Race, sponsored by Cub Scout Pack 553, in which potatoes were decorated and then raced down a ramp for prizes.

As one can imagine, there was green everywhere – on coats, sweat shirts, hats, beads, buttons and even ties.

“We are growing,” Nancy Bingham said. Besides parade entries, she said there were more vendors, food and activities than there were last year.

Another family member, Jim Bingham, said there was a nice turnout despite the newness of the festival and the time of year it was held. During the summer, he pointed out, there are so many local events going on, with each local town holding its own festival, this was the best time to hold their’s, especially the weekend before the traditional St. Patrick’s Day holiday, which is Friday, March 17.

“It was warmer last year, but it rained,” he said.

Sandy Soderblom and Stephanie Wascher had one of the best seats to watch the 20-minute parade as they sat on chairs in the left hand corner window of Needles, Quilting and Yarn, 430 North Lincoln Highway. Not only did they have a clear view, it was warmer and they were out of the wind.

“We saw the Christmas parade from our window, too,” co-owner Soderblom said. “This is a good view.”

Saturday’s festivities started with the Tyson Foods Lucky Hub Dash in the morning and concluded with a bar crawl at night.

Right before the downtown festivities, the Rochelle Mason Lodge 244 held a fundraiser for the Rochelle Police Department’s K-9 unit.

According to police officer Ryan Beery, the department has two dogs, including Axel, who just turned two years old, who he took to the fundraiser.

Clint Dickey, lodge secretary, said the funds are needed to help maintain and train the animals since the program isn’t entirely funded by the city.

Based on the turnout and the enthusiasm for the festival, Nancy Bingham is hopeful it will become an annual event in Rochelle.