News Nearby: North Hills Senior to Celebrate St. Patrick's Day on Miss Smiling Irish Eyes Court

It's not luck that put North Hills senior Shannon Evans on the 2012 Miss Smiling Irish Eyes Court. 

The 18-year-old was selected earlier this month to appear in the honored spot Saturday during Pittsburgh's St. Patrick's Day Parade, claimed by its organizers to be the second-largest such parade in the United States after New York City. 

Evans, an honor roll student and committed volunteer for a number of community organizations (she logged 300 hours in 2011), is fourth-generation Irish and has been an Irish Bell School dancer since the age of 5. She has participated in the parade every year after.

"It's my favorite day," she said, adding that it was the images of dancing little girls with curly hair and pretty dresses that first drew her attention. "Everyone's happy. It shows how close the city is." 

Her involvement in Irish dance and the parade moved the rest of her family into the spirit of it. Her father, Paul, joined the Ancient Order of Hibernians, a Catholic, Irish-American fraternal organization with a division in the North Hills, and two years ago joined the parade's committee, where he helps coordinate the marching bands and musical performances. 

"It's a day for the Irish, but it's also a day for Pittsburgh," he said. 

And the family's involvement in the Irish festivities has made this weekend almost a bigger deal for the family than Christmas, said Shannon's mother, Julie Evans.

Following the end of Saturday morning's parade (which starts at 10 a.m.), the Evans family will return home to a house full of friends and family and traditional Irish dishes, such as Shepherd's pie, corn beef and cabbage, stew, soda bread, Irish potatoes and scones—a meal they've spent the past week preparing. 

"It's our biggest family get-together," she said. "Immediately after Christmas, they're ready to put the Shamrocks up."

That's why Shannon faced a difficult choice this year about how to spend her St. Patrick's Day.

A member of the North Hills Marching Band, she not only had to choose whether to join them in their performance Saturday in Chicago's St. Patrick's Day parade, but as a senior Bell School dancer, she also had to decide between a spot of honor on its float—which she said she has dreamed of since being a little girl—and the position of honor she was given by being selected as a court maiden on the Miss Smiling Irish Eyes Court. 

"I was excited for her (when we heard the news about the court)," Julie Evans said. "But I also had mixed emotions because I knew she also wanted to dance." 

"It's been a roller coaster for her, making these big decisions," she said. 

Those selected for the Miss Smiling Irish Eyes Court must be single women of Irish decent between the ages of 17 and 22 and must represent the Irish community of Pittsburgh by demonstrating excellent moral character, ethical ideals and poise. 

Three women were selected for the court. . And Banksville resident Laura Schubert, a sophomore at Case Western University, is serving as the second court maiden.

In addition to her dancing and school activities, Shannon's resume includes a notable number of volunteer efforts—which earned her the Presidential Volunteer Service Award in 2011 for the 300 hours she logged.

The time includes three hours every Monday spent in the emergency room at Allegheny General Hospital, and time helping the Make-A-Wish organization, Angel's Place, the Greater Pittsburgh Area Food Bank and the Jubilee Soup Kitchen—to name a few. 

She is also a member of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Lay Mission Volunteer Group, which led her to Tennessee this past summer to help with the removal of debris caused by tornado damage. In January, as part of the group, she traveled to Belize in Central America to help build a house. 

Shannon is so committed to giving back that her parents said they sometimes have trouble keeping up with her. But, "she gets all the facts and she pleads her case—she's done it since she was 5," Julie Evans said. 

Shannon plans to attend the University of Akron in the fall and to make a career out of emergency management work. 

Although Julie Evans said she knows her daughter is very involved, reading the resume Shannon filled out for the Miss Smiling Irish Eyes court hit it home even more.

"You look at it, and you say 'holy cow, this child has done a lot,'" she said. 

About the parade:

Pittsburgh's St. Patrick's Day parade will begin at 10 a.m. with the route stretching from the intersection of Liberty Avenue and 11th Street (at the Greyhound Bus Station) to the review stand on the Boulevard of the Allies at Stanwix Street. 

About 23,000 participants are expected to draw about 150,000 to 200,000 people to the area, according to the organizers. 

The parade has been an annual event celebrating the city's Irish heritage for 142 years. Event officials said that Pittsburgh's is the second-largest St. Patrick's Day parade in the United States; New York City has the largest. 

Bus routes serving the Strip District will be detoured as early as 8 a.m., with other detours starting about 9 a.m. Regular stops and routing should be restored about 2:30 p.m.

During the parade, South Side/South Hills bus routes will terminate at Station Square, where riders continuing into Downtown can transfer to the T for free. Second Avenue bus service will terminate at First Avenue T Station, and Oakland/Hill District/Penn Hills routes will terminate near Steel Plaza T Station. All T rides within Downtown are free.

The 28X Airport Flyer will not serve Downtown during the parade. Riders should take the T to Station Square to catch the detoured 28X. P1 East Busway-All Stops riders must pick up their route at Penn Station during the parade.

Various other bus routes are also detoured. For full details, visit www.portauthority.org, or call Customer Service at 412-442-2000 or the TTY number, 412-231-7007.