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Talk Show Legend Phil Donahue to Head St. Pat's For All Parade in Sunnyside

 The St. Pat's for All Parade will return Sunday in Sunnyside with Phil Donahue marching as one of its honorees, according to organizers.
The St. Pat's for All Parade will return Sunday in Sunnyside with Phil Donahue marching as one of its honorees, according to organizers.
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Inset: St. Pat's for All; DNAinfo/Katie Honan

SUNNYSIDE — The neighborhood's annual celebration of Irish pride will have a famous face in its ranks this weekend.

The St. Pat's for All Parade — which launched in 1999 as an LGBT-friendly alternative to Manhattan's St. Patrick's Parade — will return Sunday with legendary talk show icon Phil Donahue marching as one of its honorees, according to organizers.

Host of "The Phil Donahue Show" for nearly 30 years, the television icon was chosen for "his advocacy for human rights and his vision of America, which is inclusive," parade organizer Brendan Fay said.

"Through his talk shows, Phil Donahue initiated new conversation in America on sexuality, on equality, equal rights for LGBT people and marriage equality, on advocacy and equality for women," Fay said. "He is a legend."

The parade will also honor Anastasia Somoza, a disability rights advocate and a longtime supporter of St. Pat's For All, Fay said.

The march this year will feature more than 116 groups — many of them Irish organizations but also those from Mexican, South Asian, Peruvian and other communities, according to Fay, noting that their goal has always been to champion diversity and inclusiveness.

"I think this year's St. Pat's for All will be different," he said, pointing to the Trump's administration's recent policies causing anxiety among the Irish and other immigrant communities.

Parade-goers coming from Manhattan should note that the 7 train won't be running in the borough and parts of Long Island City this weekend, with shuttle buses serving 7 train stations between 34th Street-Hudson Yards and Queensboro Plaza instead.

Travelers can take the N or W into Queens, and catch the 7 train heading east at Queensboro Plaza.

Fay called the transit hiccup "unfortunate" but doesn't think it will keep crowds away.

"The people who come to St. Pat's for All are a very determined community," he said. "There's no doubt that's its a major inconvenience, but it won't deter anybody."

St. Pat's for All will take place Sunday at 43rd Street and Skillman Avenue, with remarks at 1 p.m. and marching to start at 2 p.m. The route will end at 58th Street and Woodside Avenue.