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Meet the woman behind the Hot Springs parade costumes

Meet the Hot Springs woman behind the glitz and glamour of the Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade in the world

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (KTHV) -- The luck of the Irish is coming to a town near you.

This Thursday, you'll have a chance to get a front row seat to the 13th annual World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade.

One Hot Springs woman is not only the parade queen, but also the woman behind the magical costumes.

Dressing is a way of life, but for Hannah Mills, "dressing" has become her life.

The well-known costume designer in Hot Springs has been turning fantasy into reality for more than 30 years.
"It's the uniqueness of the costumes not just the fact that it's costumes, but the uniqueness of it."

At Hannah's Closet inside the Hot Springy Dingy, everything is going green.

"The St. Patrick's Day Parade was actually instigated by a group of people sitting around a table trying to figure out what to do to bring some fun into the community."

13 years ago, the city of Hot Springs started the World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade.

"How can you not have an exciting parade without marvelous costumes?"

Using color, sparkle, quality and movement, Mills custom designs and sews almost every costume in the parade.
"The whole key to making each one better than the other is to make everyone unique and exciting in of itself."

This year's parade will prove to be one of Mills' most memorable since she will serve as the queen.

“They pick people from the community that really say something about the community, so when they picked me I mean it was just amazing."

After years of designing someone else's costume, it’s her turn to wear one of her own.

"The very first thing people ask me when they find out I'm the queen is, what are you going to wear?"

Without giving away too much, expect lots of sequins and sparkle.

"Just everything about the parade. The costuming, the floats, the people, the excitement, the whole aura of the parade just adds a whole venue of excitement to Hot Springs."

THV11 is sending a crew to the infamous parade, so if you can't make it watch THV11 News at 5 and 10 p.m. on Thursday.

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