Nebraska towns are preparing for St. Patrick's Day

WISNER, Neb. -- Blood runs green in Wisner, Nebraska. The town has been preparing for their St. Patrick’s Day celebration this weekend. 

“A lot of people in our town have an Irish background,” said Megan Feller, member of the St. Patrick’s Day Committee. “And so to be honest, I'm not really sure exactly how it started. But there are a lot of Irish men and women in our town.”

Since the beginning of the year, the town has been preparing for the holiday on Sunday by gathering funds and different organizations to pitch in. 

“We go around and ask for some donations throughout the town and we put that towards kids games, some stuff for the parade,” Feller said. “Just keeping things alive in our town like that's what I love about it.”

Some towns have been notoriously known in Nebraska for their St. Patrick’s Day celebration. O’Neill is the Irish capital of the state.

“The O'Neill Fire Department and the O'Neill-fibians will get the pond green down in Carney Park,” said Lauri Havranek, President and CEO of the O’Neill Chamber of Commerce. “Chicago might dye the river, we dye the pond green.” 

A tradition that’s been around for 57 years, O’Neill prides themselves for putting on quite the show for families. 

“When I look up and down the parade route there on Douglas St. and see all those people, the kids are so excited to be picking up the candy, and the parents are seeing people that they haven't seen for a long time,” Havranek said. ”It's just a great time for people to get together and just have some fun. If you don't leave there with your cheeks and your side sore from laughing, you didn't do it right.”