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The message of the DUI Marching Band is serious — don't drink and drive. But as with every other entry in the St. Patrick's Day Parade in downtown Salt Lake City on Saturday, the delivery was anything but.

The "band" consisted of a group of volunteers in handcuffs, dressed in bright orange prison jumpsuits — playing kazoos.

It's a new effort by Utah law enforcement to help keep drunken drivers off the roads in the days leading up to St. Patrick's Day, one of the biggest drinking days of the year.

"We want people to get the message that it's OK to drink, but that there are consequences for those who drink and drive," said Teri Pectol, a program manager with the Highway Safety Office of the Utah Department of Public Safety.

Along the Wasatch Front, a number of law enforcement agencies are stepping up patrols and checkpoints around St. Patrick's Day in an effort to keep drunken drivers off the roads.

The DUI Band was among more than 100 entries in the parade, which, in its 33rd year, is one of Utah's largest parades. Organized by the Hibernian Society of Utah, it has grown into a regional draw.

"We get parade entries — and spectators — from all over Utah and even other states," said parade co-chairman Joe Brown.

On Saturday, the parade consisted of a bit of everything Irish — men in kilts, Irish dancers, wolf hounds and bands with bagpipes playing music — as well as the standard parade fare of police officers on motorcycles, fire engines and fancy cars.

Some families have been coming to the parade for decades.

"We just love it," said Jane Morrison, of West Valley City, who has watched the parade with her family for more than 20 years. "It's not a part of Utah you get to see very often."

Morrison thought the don't-drink-and-drive message of the DUI "band" was right on target. "They did it with humor; I thought it was great," she said.

Unlike some other parades, the Hibernian Society of Utah has had an open policy regarding entries — some this year were as small and simple as two people dressed in green walking side by side. Many businesses and organizations now participate in the parade, drawn to the thousands who come to see it.

Annie Jensen, of Salt Lake City, has been a part of the parade for the past four years, promoting the Community Cooperative Nursery School in Salt Lake. "It's a great way to get the word out about our school," she said. "The parade has gotten bigger every year we've been in it."

The parade started at 10 a.m. at the corner of 400 West and 200 North, behind West High School, traveled south to 50 North, then headed west to Rio Grande Street, where it turned south. It ended at the corner of 200 South and 500 West.

After the parade, ended, the Siamsa (pronounced "SHAM-suh") or post-parade party, began, running all day at The Gateway's Grand Hall at the Union Pacific Depot.