Everyone’s a little Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. In Lawrence, it’s a great day to have a little fun and say thank you for the many contributions the local St. Patrick’s Day organizers make to our community.

The most obvious fruit of the group’s labor is today’s parade which begins at 1 p.m. at South Park and travels down Massachusetts Street. Organizers say more than 100 floats have been entered, a record for a weekday parade.

Perhaps even more important, however, are all the activities that have led up to the parade and raised money for local charities. The Shamrock Shuffle, a Texas hold-em tournament, a charity benefit auction and other events have been held in February and March to raise money for this year’s designated groups: Women’s Transitional Care Services, Douglas County CASA, Family Promise, Van Go Mobile Arts and the Lawrence Humane Society. Organizers set a fundraising goal of $50,000, which will provide a nice gift, even split five ways.

In the last 22 years, the St. Patrick’s Day committee has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for local charities — and apparently had a lot of fun doing it. Today’s parade will be a fun activity and probably draw plenty of children who are out of school for spring break. Who knows? Maybe some of that Irish luck will even bring the sun out.