Even with a snowy March day in the forecast for Saturday, organizers of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Rochester, along with city officials, say they are ready to hold the big event.
It will be the first time since 2019 the parade has been held due to the pandemic.
There is a forecast for several inches of snow falling from Friday night into Saturday night.
But Karen St. Aubin, who is Director of Operations for the city, said public works employees will be on the job early to clear the parade route.
“The parade is on and everybody’s very excited to get back into it, so we have staff on 24/7,” said St. Aubin. “That staff will treat the roads as soon as they need to be treated and we’ll continue to stay on it with extra attention, right through until the parade start.”
That parade steps off at 12:30 p.m. Saturday from the corner of East Avenue and Alexander Street. It then proceeds on East Ave to Main Street, ending at Fitzhugh Street.
The parade usually draws tens of thousands of spectators.
One of the organizers, Kate McBride, said that there are about 3,000 marchers in the parade, 10 bands, six Irish dance schools, and a variety of floats.
“There’s been a lot of groups that have been marching in this for decades, and really, everybody’s coming back,” said McBride. “So I think there’s a lot of excitement, I think there always is, because it’s sort of the first big outdoor event of the season, after a long winter, so we always get a great crowd.”
The parade will be preceded by the Runnin’ of the Green’ road race, which starts at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday on Exchange Boulevard near Broad and Court Streets.
Parade contingents will gather for staging on East Avenue between Alexander Street and South Goodman Street and on various surrounding side streets. Staging streets will be closed to vehicular traffic from approximately 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with staggered openings as participants enter the parade.
The following streets will be closed for parade staging areas:
• East Avenue between Union Street and Goodman Street;
• Alexander Street between Park Avenue and Charlotte Street;
• Sibley Place at East Avenue;
• Meigs Street between Park Avenue and East Avenue;
• Arnold Park from East Avenue to Park Avenue;
• Strathallan Park from East Avenue to University Avenue;
• Prince Street between East Avenue and College Avenue.
Parking restrictions:
Street parking along the parade route is prohibited beginning at 7 a.m. on Saturday, March 12.
The City of Rochester offers free parking at the following garages:
• Mortimer Street
• Sister Cities
• East End is free until 5 p.m.
