Our founders
It started in a motel parking lot.
In March 1983, a North Kansas City motel threw a St. Patrick's promotion. It was about ten degrees. A handful of floats rolled through the parking lot while guests watched from their rooms and the coffee shop. Two men behind it had a bigger idea.
The two founders
A bowling man and the voice of the Chiefs.
Mickey Finn · 1928–2014
The founder
Laurence “Mickey” Finn spent about fifty years in bowling. He came to North Kansas City in 1967, then managed and later owned NKC Pro Bowl.
He led Northland Festivals for 28 years. He wanted a day for families, with something free for every kid, and the festival area still carries on that tradition.
Bill Grigsby · 1922–2011
The co-founder
The radio voice of the Kansas City Chiefs from 1963, a member of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, and the parade's first Grand Marshal in 1985.
Out front
Leading the parade he started.
The mayor's line
1983. Ten degrees. A handful of floats. One motel parking lot.
“We might as well take it to the street next year.”Mayor Clark Ferguson to Mickey Finn after the first parade, as the organizers tell it
The parade moved onto the streets of North Kansas City in the mid-1980s. The official count starts in 1985, which is why March 13, 2027 is the 43rd parade. It has run every year since, always the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day, except 2020, when COVID cancelled it, and 2021, when it came back in October as “Spooky Snake Saturday.”
From the start, it was built so charities win. Nonprofits enter floats and compete for cash, and every one that enters goes home with money.
The handoff
When it was time to step back, Mickey Finn asked J.D. Green to take over, in a racetrack suite, in front of about twenty people. Green has led Northland Festivals since, and in 2024 he was the parade's Grand Marshal.
The legacy
Every parade still awards the Mickey Finn's Grand Marshal Choice. The 2024 parade theme was “Mickey Finn's Irish Dream,” marking forty years.
In their own words
From the families.
Coming soon
This space is for the founders' families. Josh Baker, a founder's grandson, is helping us collect the stories and photos that no newspaper ever printed.
Help fill the gaps
We're still missing the parade themes from 1983 to 1993 and 1997. If you have photos, programs, T-shirts or memories from those years, we want to hear from you.