FEEL LUCKY? 30A goes green for the day during parade (PHOTOS)

SANTA ROSA BEACH — St. Patrick’s Day came a little early this year along Scenic Highway 30A.

A convoy of pickup trucks piled with green decorations made its way from Grayton Beach to Dune Allen Beach to celebrate the third annual 30A St. Patrick’s Parade on a sunny, windy Saturday afternoon. Participants dressed up their trucks as floats and threw handfuls of candy and beads at bystanders as they rolled by.

View a photo gallery from the parade »

Revelers watching the parade ran up along the floats and held out plastic, shamrock-decorated hats. Motorcycle riders along the route waved while children raced along on their bicycles clutching bags full of candy.

“It’s all for the kids,” said Brannon Janca, one of the owners of Stinky’s Fish Camp.

Employees at the restaurant put together their float by hitching a boat named “Piglet” to their truck and piling it with crab traps and plastic shamrocks. Music blasted from a boom box and Janca played along with a drum and a tambourine.

Janca said Stinky’s has also handed out crawfish and collard greens in years past. This year, they handed out cupcakes topped with green frosting.

“They’re going over a lot better than the greens,” he said.

Floats competed for the attention of judges standing outside Johnny McTighe’s Irish Pub.

Chris and Debbie Reither, who live in Seagrove Beach, were videotaping the parade’s end at Gulf Place. They had planned to go sailing Saturday, but decided the water was too rough.

Chris said the parade was an effective way to block off traffic, and it was fun for the kids.

Caroline Armistead, 7, of Santa Rosa Beach watched the parade go by from the side of the road with her family. Caroline had a pot of gold painted on her cheek.

“I like seeing the leprechauns,” she said.