FICTIONAL SAINT MAKING ST. PATRICK GREEN WITH ENVY

FICTIONAL SAINT MAKING ST. PATRICK GREEN WITH ENVY

HOOD RIVER, Ore. (Wireless Flash) -- St. Patrick won't be getting top billing in the town of Hood River, Oregon, this week. Today (Mar. 16) the town is honoring "St. Urho" -- a fictional Finnish saint who supposedly drove grasshoppers out of Finnish vineyards and into Ireland. St. Urho's Day organizer Felix Tomlinson admits the entire story is a sham that was dreamed up to upstage St. Patrick's Day and give locals an excuse to wear purple and lime green outfits. There will also be a parade featuring a St. Urho's Day Queen wearing a crown of plastic grasshoppers, and the Finnish Women's Drill Team, which swirls Finnish flags attached to power drills. However, the real highlight of St. Urho's Day will take place during the annual "Changing Of The Guard." That's when residents strip off their winter long johns and replace them with their summer skivvies.

CONTACT: Felix Tomlinson, ****; Hood River, OR; (541) 386-1802