The bright sunshine called for shaded eyewear.

But for Darren McCoy, denim shorts were in order, too.

After all, McCoy, the grand marshal of Oak Harbor’s 43rd St. Patrick’s Day Parade, was standing in the bed of a pickup truck high above parade-goers. And he was wearing a Scottish kilt.

“I didn’t want it to be windy,” McCoy said.

Thursday’s downtown parade was framed by blue skies and white snow-capped mountains worthy of an Oak Harbor postcard.

The weather invited a crowd of at least several hundred that was festively dressed in green and lined much of Pioneer Way.

The improved turnout was a pleasant surprise for many.

“We were doing this parade when there were probably more people in the parade than on the sidelines,” said Bob O’Dell,  the man inside the Oak Harbor Lions Club lion suit.

McCoy, Oak Harbor High School’s 31-year-old choral director, was a hit, leading a sea of choir students that trailed him. A marching drumline pounded away in front of him.

“Epic,” sophomore choir member Loreal Laborce said of McCoy’s choice of attire. “It was grand.”

The parade also featured various clubs, organizations and dignitaries, including Oak Harbor Mayor Bob Severns and Geoffrey Moore, the new commanding officer at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.

Considering the wild weather of late, some felt the luck of the Irish might’ve been at play for such a welcome splash of sun.

Although Native Americans were present for thousands of years, Oak Harbor was settled mostly by Irish in the mid 19th century before the Dutch soon after made their mark on the city.

The Irish Wildlife Society organized the St. Patrick’s Day parade with help from the Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce.