Charly Abraham knows how to throw a party and for the past 22 years, he has proved just that as the main organizer for Mal's St. Patty's Parade.
Each January the 59-year-old manager of Hal & Mal's starts working around the clock to ensure a successful parade day, which draws approximately 40,000 people to downtown Jackson. "We think about it all year, but we really start working hard on Jan. 2. We take New Year's day off, and pretty much work straight through," he said on Radio JFP Thursday.
Abraham is responsible for working with the city to cover all parade details from defining up the parade route to organizing clean-up procedures. He says the parade only allows 50 floats, but welcomes marching krewes of all sizes. "I always encourage everyone to get a group of friends, dress stupid, think of something to throw and have a great time," he says.
The official start time of the parade is 1 p.m. tomorrow, but Abraham says the best time to go is at 12:30 p.m. for "The City Sweep." During the event, radio personalities from local radio stations and volunteers sell bead necklaces for $1 and t-shirts for $5, and all proceeds go to Blair E. Batson's Children's Hospital. Small monkeys dressed cowboys riding on the backs of dogs will also be at the city sweep, Abrahams said.
Abraham, a Leland, Miss., native, graduated from Ole Miss in 1972 with a music education bachelor's degree, and stayed at the university as a faculty member for three years before moving to Los Angeles.
In L.A. he played in several bands and worked on the television show "The White Shadow" as a music arranger. He moved back to Mississippi in 1987 and started working as a bartender at Hal & Mal's, where he's been ever since.
To hear Abraham discuss Mal's St. Patty's Parade, listen to the podcast of the March 18 episode of JFP radio on WLEZ-FM. For a complete guide to the parade and all festivities see this week's JFP issue.
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