Limerick: Forty thousand people are expected to line the streets of Limerick this weekend for the city's International Band Parade and Competition.
The musical festival is part of a week-long programme of events known this year as St Patrick's Spring Fest 2003 which also comprises the traditional St Patrick's Day Parade, the Limerick International Fashion Forum, the French Market and more than 30 other events.
The new programme of activities is designed to replace the traditional Civic Week celebrations and is being run jointly by the Limerick Co-Ordination Office and Shannon Development.
"People can take enormous pride in the achievements which have seen Limerick transformed into a fast-growing and dynamic city" said Mr Andrew Mawhinney, director of the Limerick Co-ordination Office.
"Pride in Limerick is not a duty, it is a right, and this is part of a concerted effort to show the city in its most positive light,"
The project was set up 18 months ago to maintain an overview of the positive news aspects of life in Limerick.
The Limerick International Band Festival has been organised by Shannon Development for the past 33 years, and this year 25 bands from the US, Germany, Slovenia and Ireland will perform in the parade and competition, the parade recital, and the International Drill and Dance Competition over two days.
However, plans suffered a setback earlier this week when the US Air Force Marching Band withdrew from the event following security concerns as the build-up to a possible war in the Gulf continues.
For the first time the parade will be professionally choreographed by an artistic director.
A Limerick actor, Myles Breen, devised the theme for the parade, "I'm from Limerick, past, present and future".
"We have removed the competitive element from this year's parade," said Mr Breen.
"There will be no prizes for the best float because we want to present the parade as a unified event with each entrant or float complementing all the others."
The Jim Kemmy Young Designer of the Year Awards are the highlight of the Limerick International Fashion Forum which runs from March 18th to 20th.
Another highlight of Spring Fest is the French market over two days.
More than 30 French food stalls, with traders dressed in traditional costume, will line the banks of the Abbey river on George's Quay to sell a range of hot and cold gastronomic delights.