Cities like New York and Chicago boast some of the largest St. Patrick’s Day parades, attracting thousands of revelers and plenty of green beer.
But a city in Arkansas has gained popularity over the years with its parade for an entirely different reason. The city of Hot Springs, a resort town known for its mineral-rich waters, promotes its 98-foot route as the World’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
For more than two decades the city has held the parade on Bridge Street downtown, and it’s become one of its biggest draws. It’s even gained the attention of celebrities who have participated in the annual, short event, including actress Valerie Bertinelli and rap icon Flavor Flav.
How the parade began
Steve Arrison, CEO of Visit Hot Springs, said the idea began in 2003 when he and a group of friends were at a downtown restaurant “drinking adult beverages” and the topic of St. Patrick’s Day came up.
“We got to talking and said, well, why don’t we have a parade?” Arrison said.
The parade began the following year and drew about 1,500 people. More than 30,000 people watch the parade each year, organizers say.
What’s a 98-foot parade like?
For the world’s shortest, the parade packs in a lot. They’ll have 40 different floats, and participants will include 100 members of a group of Elvis Presley impersonators known as the International Order of the Marching Irish Elvi.
Another float will feature the local chapter of the International Society of Helen Ropers, with participants dressed up as the character from the 1970s sitcom, “Three’s Company”.
The parade has also featured a celebrity grand marshal and parade starter, and over the years has included familiar names such as actor Kevin Bacon, “Cheers” star George Wendt and country music star Justin Moore. This year, Bertinelli will be the grand marshal and Flav will be the official starter.
The parade even created its own green version of the signature clock necklace Flav, a founding member of Public Enemy, is known for wearing.
The Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders have also participated in the parade for the past several years.
The parade includes other events, including a concert and a “Blarney Stone kissing contest.” Before the parade begins Monday, there’s an official measuring of the route.
Other short parades
Other parades have tried to lay claim to being the shortest in recent years, including two cities in New York that dueled over who had the shortest parade. Another 78-pace parade was planned in Bemidji, Minnesota on Monday.
The Hot Springs parade’s organizers also keep up a feud with another parade in Adamsville, Rhode Island that claims its 89-foot route is the shortest. But Arrison dismisses their claim, noting that city’s parade is held on the day before St. Patrick’s Day.
Arrison also notes that the Hot Springs event has copyrighted the title “World’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade.”
Gen Z may not be able to afford a house or the cost of living now—but give it 10 years. They’re on track to gain $36 trillion and become the richest generation
Gen Z is expected to become the largest and richest economic force by 2035. According to a recent Bank of America report, the youngest generation of workers will amass over $74 trillion in income by 2040. It will be a stark—and welcome—change from their current reality of flying by the seat of their pants.
Gen Z is living the paycheck-to-paycheck twenties lifestyle—splurging on high rent costs and dishing out 99-cent ramen noodles. Yet in just a decade, they’ll be the most powerful economic force.
Only two years ago, Gen Z had amassed $9 trillion in income, but by 2030 they’re expected to have $36 trillion. And by 2040, that number rises to $74 trillion. A recent Bank of America report shows this will place them as the richest—and largest—generation by 2035, as Gen Z is expected to grow to 30% of the global population in the next decade.
Gen Z’s projected economic dominance can feel worlds away from their current economic situation. But there might be light at the end of the tunnel as they climb up the corporate ladder and take on their family’s inheritance.
Gen Z’s current economic woes: no houses and no kids
Many young people are strapped for cash, stepping out of college and into an uncertain job market. Gen Zers are having to turn down job opportunities because they can’t afford commuting expenses. They’re spoiling their pets in lieu of having children, which have become too expensive to raise, and abandoning the pipe dream of purchasing a home—unless they receive an inheritance.
Gen Z is also struggling with holding down a job. Young households receiving unemployment surged 32% year over year in February, according to the report. But it’s not for a lack of trying, despite the naysayers. The report says Gen Zers are “overeducated and underemployed,” and amid a tough white-collar labor market, unemployment for new entrants was up over 9% year over year in February. This results in Gen Z taking gigs that they may be overqualified or not the right fit for, which can have long-term career ramifications.
Yet in just 10 years, this could all flip on its head. The Bank of America report notes that wage growth for Gen Z increased by 8% year over year in February. A part of this bump can be attributed to the generation finally entering the full-time job market, leading to higher wages. But the biggest contributing factor in their financial boost is the Great Wealth Transfer, expected to hit Gen Z bank accounts in the years to come.
The great wealth transfer into the pockets of Gen Z
With the odds stacked against them, Gen Z’s best bet on living comfortably is coming into wealth.
About $84 trillion is anticipated to pass down from seniors and baby boomers to Gen X, millennials, and Gen Z by 2045, according to a 2021 report from Cerulli Associates. Most of the money will be handed over to Gen X and millennials—but 38% of Gen Z still anticipate they will receive an inheritance, according to a separate survey.
Gen Z’s share of the pie, alongside their stark wage increases, will lead to a ballooning of their economic power. Even in the current day, the young generation is a force to be reckoned with. They have higher discretionary spending habits compared to others, and their global spending is expected to reach $12.6 trillion by 2030, compared to $2.7 trillion in 2024. Their spending growth per household has also been stronger than the overall population, including both necessity and discretionary spending, according to the report.
There’s a few reasons why Gen Z spends so much of their money: They’re pouring funds into their high rents and education costs; “doom spending” on essentials and small luxuries, instead of saving up for bigger investments that feel unattainable; and trying to escape their high credit card and student loan debt.
But businesses should take note: Once Gen Zers have money to burn, they’ll be in the driver’s seat of the economy. Companies are already taking note of their preferences: luxury, e-commerce, wellness and beauty, and pets. Gen Z is also deeply invested in fintech, new media, gaming, and big tech, according to the Bank of America report. Their tastes will shape which business will thrive in 2035.
“It’s likely they will be among the most disruptive generations to economies, markets, and social systems,” the Bank of America report says. “Whether it’s due to changing diets or reduced alcohol consumption or saving and housing, Gen Z will redefine what it means to be a U.S. consumer.”
Forty years ago, a self-made millionaire, heart attack survivor, and anti-cholesterol activist by the name of Phil Sokolof went after fast-food chains for their high-fat, deep-fried foods—particularly for their use of beef tallow as a cooking oil.
Eventually, McDonald’s and other chains switched to lower-fat oils—and though they credited research, rather than Sokolof’s campaign, the gadfly ran congratulatory ads anyway.
Fast forward to today, when Sokolof, who died in 2004 at the age of 82, is likely rolling in his grave.
That’s because beef tallow is enjoying a comeback. It’s being encouraged not only by many beauty influencers, who advise rubbing the rendered fat into your skin, but by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who fried his Thanksgiving turkey in tallow, has touted its alleged health properties, and recently praised Steak ’n Shake burger chain for “RFKing the french fries” by switching back to the old-school oil.
Are there any truths to the health-based claims of those greasing the wheels for beef tallow’s revival? Below, what we know.
What is beef tallow and why are people for it?
Beef tallow is made from slowly simmering the fat surrounding cows’ organs; this separates the fat from liquid and connective tissue, allowing the solidified fat to then be collected.
Those who support its use typically do so because it is natural and because they believe it’s healthier than seed oils—canola, corn, sunflower, safflower, grapeseed, etc—which Kennedy has blamed for a rise in obesity.
The American Heart Association, though, encourages the use of seed oils, noting, “The misleading charge is that seed oils are high in omega-6 fatty acids that break down into toxins when used for cooking, causing inflammation, weakening the immune system, and contributing to chronic illnesses.” But that’s not the case, says its quoted expert, Dr. Christopher Gardner, a professor of medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine in California and a nutrition scientist at the Stanford Prevention Research Center.
While omega-3s (found in beef tallow) might be better for your health, he points out, omega-6s are not bad—and in fact constitute a polyunsaturated fat that the body needs but cannot produce by itself, and which helps the body reduce bad (LDL) cholesterol, thereby lowering the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Lisa Young, a nutritionist and an adjunct professor at NYU, told NBC News, “People are blaming the seed oils when that’s not what’s toxic. It’s the sugar and salt in the junk food that they’re using.”
Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., and Phil Sokolof, President of the National Heart Savers Association, in April 1988. (Photo by Lisa Cohen/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images)
Further, Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, a cardiologist and head of the Food is Medicine Institute at Tufts University, told NPR that “concern around seed oils is really a distraction, and we need to be focusing on the real problems,” which are overdoses of refined grains, starches, sugars, salt and other preservatives, chemical additives, and contaminants from packaging.
“Seed oils are actually the bright spot,” he said. “Seed oils are healthy fats, healthy monounsaturated, polyunsaturated fats that are really good for our bodies.
What science says about beef tallow
Beef tallow is high in—about 50%—saturated fat, which raises LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, which in turn raises the risk of heart disease. It’s why the American Heart Association advises against it, and why Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a group of 17,000 doctors dedicated to saving and improving human and animal lives through plant-based diets, has issued a consumer warning about the beef tallow.
Various studies have found that replacing saturated fat with plant sources of fat has benefits against heart disease. A review in the journal Circulation, for example, looked at 13 studies with 310,602 participants and found that replacing just 5% of calories from animal-sourced saturated fat with vegetable oil, seeds, and nuts—rich in linoleic acid, which is an omega-6 fatty acid—was associated with a 9% lower risk of heart disease and a 13% lower risk of death from heart disease.
A large cohort study published in JAMA Internal Medicine earlier this month found that substituting butter—another high-in-saturated-fat animal product—with plant-based oils, particularly olive, soybean, and canola oils, may help prevent premature death from heart disease and cancer.
The National Institutes of Health, in its guide of healthy cooking oils for parents, urges the use of canola, safflower, sesame, sunflower, corn, and olive oil over all animal-based oils, including chicken fat, lard, and beef tallow—with coconut oil and palm oil, both high in saturated fats, the only plant-based options appearing lower down on the list.
On the bright side, beef tallow does contain small amounts of omega-3s, according to Cleveland Clinic, as well as “fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K,” Abby Langer, a clinical nutritionist and registered dietitian told USA Today, providing benefits including improved skin, eye, teeth and bone health, plus boosted immune function. Still, there are other sources and, because of its connection to heart risk and stroke, she wouldn’t recommend tallow.
Beyond cooking, beef tallow has long been used to make soap and skincare products. But a recent large-scale review of current research around its pros and cons did not find much in the way of recommending it be slathered onto skin.
While tallow was found to offer “hydrating and moisturizing properties,” researchers found, comparative studies found that options including pumpkin seed oil and linoleic acid offered superior moisturizing benefits. Regarding research indicating tallow could be beneficial with skin conditions including dermatitis, dry skin, and psoriasis, it was concluded that more research is needed—particularly since some papers reported that tallow caused severe skin or eye irritation.
Finally, the review sought to determine whether or not beef tallow is healthy for the earth by looking into its reef-safety—something typically examined when rating sunscreens, and meaning that wearing it in oceans and having it wash off would not harm marine life.
Researchers concluded from the evidence that beef tallow is not reef-safe, writing, “This is important because some consumers prefer products that are environmentally friendly. Tallow is also an animal-derived product, and due to a rising trend through social media and increased awareness about how [personal care products] are made, many consumers now prefer products that are plant-based or considered vegan, which decreases the marketability of tallow as a skincare or cosmetic ingredient.”
They added, “Moreover, this could also indicate that tallow may have long-term effects on humans as well, which is something that needs more research.”
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