COEUR d'ALENE - A spot of rain didn't dampen spirits Saturday during the St. Patrick's Day parade along Sherman Avenue.

The parade isn't that long anyway, said Jim Shepperd, a longtime Coeur d'Alene resident.

Jim, who is Scotch-Irish, takes the holiday pretty serious. He's never missed a St. Patrick's Day parade in Coeur d'Alene.

This year was the eighth annual parade.

He was wearing a green wool sweater from Ireland, a green wrist watch, and a green Budweiser-logoed hat, loaded with St. Patrick's Day-themed pins, buttons and mini-flags.

Today he's celebrating inside a friend's barn of all places, he said. They'll be eating dinner (corned beef, cabbage, red apples), singing Irish songs, and listening to bagpipers.

But, for him, the weekend always kicks off with the parade.

"It's just the idea that we're down here doing it," getting out to enjoy the holiday-community atmosphere, Jim said.

A block west on Sherman Avenue, Marla and Mike Heldt, of Leavenworth, Wash., were ducked under an awning taking in the parade.

"I was looking all over for where we could go, just for a getaway because this holiday means a lot to me," she said. Her last name used to be Fitzsimmons, she said.

She wanted Irish pubs and a parade. Her search turned up Coeur d'Alene.

After the parade?

"We'll start pub crawling a bit - not too much, though," she said.

Two of the first people to set up lawn chairs along Sherman Avenue were Jamie Harsh of Athol and her grandmother, Lynda Caywood of Hayden.

"It was only the two of us this year; normally it's our whole family," Jamie said.

Between them their outfits included one leprechaun hat, a green feather boa, green tuxedo T-shirt, and a crown.

Their outfits were made up of "absolutely anything green we can find," Lynda said.

They were passing out shamrocks and "gold" coins to the kids.

"I like seeing the kids," Jamie said. "I work with kids, so it's cute seeing them all dressed up and walking in the parade."

Lindsay Buckholtz of Coeur d'Alene brought three of her kids to the parade.

It was the family's first "real" parade. They moved to Coeur d'Alene from Salt Lake City in January, and had originally lived in San Diego.

Brian, 10, Braiden, 7, and Stella, 2, were all braving the cool, windy and rainy weather. Dad, Brian, was working.

"We were grocery shopping about two hours ago and someone told us there would be a parade," Lindsay said. "We have actually, sadly, never been to a parade other than the ones at Disney World."

They have been loving Coeur d'Alene so far.

"I want to go fishing - Tubbs Hill is pretty fun to hike on," said Braiden.

"We hear this is the small-town version of how beautiful San Diego is," Lindsay said.

As the rain started to pick up, they said they're looking forward to their first summer here. A family next to them offered an umbrella.

"This is why I like Coeur d'Alene - the people are so nice," Lindsay said.