It will be a chilly Runnin’ of the Green road race and St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Rochester on Saturday, but that shouldn’t be much of an impediment to parade participants and spectators.
With typically wild March swings in Western New York weather, past runs and parades have seen everything from snow and sleet to relatively mild weather, and the parade still brings out thousands of people each year. The forecast for Saturday calls for cloudy and cold weather, with some snow showers, breezy conditions and a high in the mid 30s.
The 5 mile Runnin’ of the Green road face will begin at 9:30 a.m. Saturday on Exchange Boulevard between Broad and Court Streets. The runners will proceed south on Exchange, turn east on Ford Street, then go south on Wilson Blvd. to Fraternity Road. At that point, the runners will turn around and reverse their route back to the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial.
The race course will be closed to traffic at 9:00 a.m. and reopen as the last runners move along the course.
This year’s TOPS Friendly Markets Rochester St. Patrick’s Day Parade will step off at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday from East Avenue and Alexander Street. The parade will go west along East Avenue to Main Street, then turn west on Main and end at the corner of Main and Fitzhugh Streets. The parade route will be closed to vehicle traffic around noon and reopen around 3:30 p.m. Parade participants will stage on East Ave. between Alexander and South Goodman streets and surrounding side streets, and some of those staging streets will be closed to vehicular traffic from about 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Rochester Police will have enhanced security measures during the event.
The City of Rochester will have free parking at the Mortimer Street and Sister Cities garages; the East End garage is free until 5:00 p.m. on Saturday.
The Grand Marshall of this year’s parade is the Rochester Police Department which is celebrating its 200th anniversary.
The parade includes more than 130 entries, 4,000 marchers, and bands from all over New York state and Canada.
Visit www.rochesterparade.com for more information.
