One of the New England Patriots’ most beloved and clutch players will march alongside the leprechauns, rogues and banshees when the World’s Shortest St. Paddy’s Day parade returns to Adamsville one month from Sunday.

Troy Brown, a wide receiver and return wizard who played his entire career with the Patriots, will be this year’s guest of honor, one of the Sunday, March 16 parade’s organizers, Chuck Kinnane, said Monday.

“There was a short list of people that we wanted to invite as our guest of honor this year,” Kinnane said. “We’ve just heard wonderful things about him and he’s excited to be here.”

It’s been four years since a group of friends in Adamsville held the first parade, setting it at 89 feet to claim the ‘world’s shortest’ honors from a 90-foot procession that’s been held in Hot Springs, Ar. for years.

Kinnane said Monday that while Adamsville’s parade remains the shortest, he has heard word that Hot Springs may take “drastic action” this week or next to reclaim its top spot. If it does, he said, “we’re ready.”

More on that as details emerge. But until then, there’s this:

• Apart from the 3 p.m. parade itself, the star of the show every year has been the corned beef and cabbage dinner afterwards, which benefits food pantries in Little Compton, Westport and Tiverton. It sells out every year and more than 400 tickets were sold last year. This year, Kinnane said, organizers are trying to figure out how to get even more meals out there to those who want them. Tickets go on sale this week, but order quickly — you can find them here.

• This year’s featured musical act is Sharks Come Cruisin, a Providence-based band that plays traditional Irish and British isles songs, sea shanties and the like. Scottish Fish, a big musical draw every year, will once again be on a float, and many other bands and musicians will also participate.

• For the first time ever, floats will be judged and the winner will receive a $1,000 prize. The ‘celebrity judge’ for the contest is Perry Blake, a Hollywood production designer who has worked on all of Adam Sandler’s movies, including The Waterboy, Happy Gilmour, The Wedding Singer, and others. The contest is sponsored by Trimworking out of Little Compton, and the parade's main sponsor is Humphrey’s Building Supply in Tiverton.

• This year’s grand marshals are the Griffin family of Little Compton — siblings Rob, Tim and Joyce and their families, who have been big supporters of the parade since the beginning.

Kinnane said Monday that it’s hard to believe it’s been four years since organizers founded the parade, mostly as a joke. Since then it’s grown beyond anything they imagined in 2022, and “every year we say, ‘Should we do this again?’”

“But now we have to — people love it and it’s become a great tradition. It’s a lot of fun.”