Shellman Bluff St. Patrick’s Day Parade marks 25th year with Silver Jubilee celebration

SHELLMAN BLUFF, Ga. (WTOC) - The Shellman Bluff St. Patrick’s Day Parade is marking its 25th anniversary this year, with residents and visitors expected to fill the streets in golf carts and green in the weekend following the Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

Once the Savannah streets have been swept, the beads put away and the bigpipers have piped, Shellman Bluff puts on its own celebration steeped in service.

The event is organized by Friends of Shellman Bluff, a community group that raises money for the local volunteer fire department and first responders in the Shellman Bluff and Harris Neck areas of McIntosh County.

Silver Jubilee preparations underway

Jen Martin Hall, a Friends of Shellman Bluff board member, said she is overseeing final preparations for the Silver Jubilee celebration.

“You hear a lot of people working on their floats, you’re seeing people parked up in their garages getting their golf carts or their trailers with everything ready,” Hall said. “So, we do expect to have a very good turnout this year.”

Hall described the organization’s mission as centered on three pillars.

“I just think of Friends of Shellman Bluff as fun, fellowship, and fundraising for the fire department,” she said.

Volunteer firefighters honored

The 2026 Grand Marshal is Sam Clark, assistant fire chief at Harris Neck, who is also celebrating 25 years of service as a firefighter in McIntosh County.

“You know, we do what we do because we love what we do, but also it is nice for people to recognize what you do,” Clark said.

The volunteer firefighters respond to calls along Interstate 95, water search and rescues, and major fires. Clark referenced a recent large-scale incident.

“Like the Huston fire we had in Darien just last year was a big one,” Clark said. “I don’t think many of us will forget that.”

Volunteers receive $25 per call. Clark said the work carries its own reward.

“Being able to be there when somebody needs something is rewarding to us as firefighters,” he said.

From a backyard to a community institution

Hall said Friends of Shellman Bluff was founded in 2001 at the home of Britt and Van Wheeler.

“Friends of Shellman Bluff started in the back yard of Britt and Van Wheeler in 2001 and with all of their friends, and really just wanting to keep having fun within the community,” Hall said. “And then it transitioned into ‘Let’s do something really good for the community,’ and then it got really specific right, about buying defibrillators and supporting the fire department, and local first responders.”

Hall said the organization’s future looks strong, pointing to younger members now involved.

“We have volunteers in their very early 20s, actual members of Friends of Shellman Bluff, and that’s one of the things that gets me really excited is that we’re literally starting to chart that path for the next generation,” she said.

Fans have already staked out spots along the parade route, approximately one month before the event.