Jamesport St. Patrick's Day Parade Names Brian Stark 2026 Grand Marshal

Brian Stark, a Riverhead businessman, stepped into the role of grand marshal Saturday as the East End Emerald Society's 12th Annual Jamesport St. Patrick's Day Parade rolled down Main Road, drawing spectators from across the North Fork to one of Suffolk County's most distinctly small-town St. Patrick's Day celebrations.

The parade stepped off at 1 p.m. on March 28 with Stark leading the procession alongside aides Earl Truland and Steven Wirth. Marching bands, veterans' groups, first responders and community floats followed the route as local businesses, fraternal organizations and youth groups lined the roadway in a display that has become a fixture on the North Fork's spring calendar for more than a decade.

The East End Emerald Society, which has organized the event since its founding, centers the parade around preserving Irish-American traditions while directing foot traffic toward Jamesport's Main Road merchants and supporting local nonprofit fundraisers. With downtown Riverhead navigating ongoing construction and a packed 2026 events calendar, the Jamesport parade's placement on the quieter North Fork schedule gave it added resonance as a stable community anchor.

Organizers coordinated with Riverhead Town and local police on road closures and public safety for the day. The midafternoon Saturday start was designed to maximize family attendance without conflicting with weekday school schedules or the kind of traffic pressure that bogs down larger regional events.

After the parade cleared Main Road, ancillary festivities continued at nearby businesses and community spaces, extending the economic activity that local merchants have come to rely on from the annual event.

By naming a grand marshal from within the Riverhead business community, the East End Emerald Society reinforced what distinguishes this parade from larger county celebrations: it draws its honorees, its volunteers and its audience from the same towns it is meant to serve, now twelve editions in.