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Published: Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2013 / Updated: Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2013 05:37 PM

Clover goes green

CLOVER -- 

Throngs of festival-goers packed a stretch of Main Street in downtown Clover Saturday to eat, drink and be merry during the town’s annual St. Patrick’s Day festival.

Town officials said the traditional celebration that honors Clover’s Scots-Irish roots attracted record attendance on a day with clear, sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-70s.

One of the highlights was a performance by “American Idol” contestant Ja’Bria Barber, a Clover High School senior who sang for the crowd at a stage near the Clover YMCA.

Later in the day, festival goers decked out in Irish green danced to music from the Contagious Blues Band near Knox Street. Dog owners showed up with their furry friends dressed in festive green for a dog show.

The festival also included a popular Irish strong man competiton, several performances by local community groups, a 5K Leprechaun Leap and fun run and a disabilities walkathon.

The event was held a day before Clover wrapped up its seven-month 125th anniversary observance by buring a time capsule at New Centre Park. The capsule, filled with newspapers, phone books and local residents’ predictions of the future, is to be opened at the town’s 175th anniversary, in 2062.