The Big (Green) Apple

Spring-like temperatures brightened the already festive mood of thousands of revelers at Monday's St. Patrick's Day Parade despite evidence of heightened police security and the possible war with Iraq.

"I'm representing Ireland and New York today. It's a day for happiness and to be together," said Greg Packer of Huntington, on Long Island, who sported a bright green wig and a painted green mustache. "It's a day to take in the Irish culture that we have in the city."

Crowds lined up 10 deep along Fifth Avenue as the parade - a New York tradition since 1766 - stepped off at 44th Street and made its way north to 86th Street. By 1 p.m., the temperature was 67 degrees.

Parades to Ireland's patron saint also were held Monday in other cities around the country, with New York billed as the largest, following by Savannah, Ga. and Kansas City, Mo.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, among several officials who marched including Gov. George Pataki and former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, was greeted with shouts of "We love you, Mike!"

There were few signs that a war with Iraq was on people's minds. Among the sea of green hats, shirts and balloons, a lone sign that read "Honk For Our Troops" was a reminder.

One spectator, Arthur Crowley, of Sunnyside, Queens, said the talk of war didn't bother him.

"I'm not worried at all because I know we're going to win," he said.

Road closures and a high police visibility were part of the security plan for the parade, which attracts 150,000 marchers and 2 million spectators. A no-tolerance policy on alcohol and backpack checks were implemented at the parade.

The city's terrorist alert level has been orange, the second-highest on a five-point scale, since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack.

In Savannah, hundreds of military wives wearing yellow ribbons with their green hats and beads marched in pouring rain to rally support for their soldier husbands.

"I don't mind walking in the rain," said Julie Sample, whose husband was sent to Kuwait in January. "They're living conditions in the desert are worse than ours."

In Cleveland, a warm day brought out thousands of people for a parade that had no hint of politics or pending war.

Debby Fayer, 44, of Middleburg Heights, wore a green T-shirt that said "PEACE" and wondered why there were no peace protesters in the streets. "I was expecting to see more. I'm kind of disappointed," she said.

John Price of suburban Fairview Park said news of possible war "kind of puts a damper on it," but he still wouldn't miss the parade. "It's a day to forget about all that."

It was perfect parade weather in Kansas City, where a festive crowd gathered for the nation's third largest St. Patrick's Day parade and what Lynn Flanigan said was a "great release" from the tensions of the conflict with Iraq.

In New York, the Fire Department's Emerald Society Pipe and Drums, displaying small American flags from the pipes, was among the many bands marching in the parade. It has performed at 400 funerals and memorials for the 343 firefighters - including two band players - who perished in the terrorist attacks.

Phyllis Stalker, of Clark, N.J., who says she is "half-Irish," comes to the parade every year because "It makes me so proud. It's a great thrill for myself and my family."

Bloomberg, wearing a pinstripe suit and green tie and waving an Irish flag, marched four times, once with each of four departments: police, fire, sanitation and correction.

While marching with members of the Fire Department, the mayor crossed paths with Giuliani and both men greeted each other warmly.

Bloomberg began the day by hosting a breakfast reception at Gracie Mansion and then attending Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral led by Cardinal Edward Egan.

"This is my fifth parade of the season," he said. "Somehow St. Patrick's Day gets celebrated over a course of a number of weeks and that's because everybody is a little Irish in the city," said Bloomberg, who is Jewish.

The mayor has participated in several St. Patrick's Day parades this month, including a gay-inclusive event in Queens. He has been criticized for marching in Monday's parade by a group of gay and lesbian Irish-American politicians because it bars gays from marching under their own banner, as many other groups do.

The mayor has compared the event to a dinner party he has been invited to but has no control over how it is organized.

By KAREN MATTHEWS