NORFOLK, Va. - As strong winds blew across Norfolk and rain poured steadily, the nasty weather put a stop to Norfolk’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade. This is the third year in row organizers had to cancel the annual parade that so many were looking forward to. This comes as a blow to businesses in Ocean View.
"We would have probably doubled if the parade had gone through. Little bit of a bomber, little bit of a letdown but overall people turned out," Kate Bianchi, the co-owner of Mudita Café tells News 3's Leondra Head.
Despite the bad weather, the co-owner of Mudita Café says people still got out.
"We still did a pretty good job today and I think the community did what they could and came out in the cold to really help us out," Bianchi, said.
In 2020 and 2021, the parade was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, Saturday morning’s nasty weather is to blame for the cancellation.
"We just got our ABC license. We wanted to ramp up for this parade. Obviously that didn’t go but we do have it now," Bianchi said.
A manager at nearby Franco’s by the Bay Italian restaurants says they noticed the impact of the parade being canceled as they were expecting a high influx of customers.
Although this year’s parade was canceled, businesses in Ocean View say they look forward to the parade making a comeback next year.
