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Chicago, Illinois
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With a reputed 200,000 Irish-Americans living in The Windy City, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Chicago serves up one heck of a St. Patrick’s Day parade! The city’s downtown parade returns on Saturday, March 14, 2026, along Columbus Drive between Balbo Drive and Monroe Street—and the fun starts even earlier with the iconic Chicago River dyeing at 10 a.m. Watching the river turn that impossible shade of green before the parade begins has been a beloved St. Patrick’s Day tradition in Chicago since 1962!
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New York, New York
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Dating back to 1762, The New York City Saint Patrick’s Day Parade is the granddaddy of them all—and it still knows how to make an entrance! Some 150,000 folks march in the spectacle annually, with as many as two million people watching from the sidewalks. The 265th parade steps off Tuesday, March 17, 2026 at 11 a.m., heading up Fifth Avenue from East 44th Street to East 79th Street, with the march typically running until around 4:30 p.m. If you can’t make it on a weekday, the Big Apple is dishing out plenty of other shamrocking special events during Paddy’s Day weekend, including cruises, bar crawls, and more.
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Boston, Massachusetts
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Did you know that 20 percent of Boston’s population claim family origins in the Emerald Isle? But that isn’t the only reason the South Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade is the stuff of legend. The annual celebration doubles as an Evacuation Day parade, honoring the departure of British troops from Boston in 1776, and in 2026 it returns on Sunday, March 15 at 11:30 a.m. The route follows the traditional Southie path, beginning near the Broadway T station and winding through the neighborhoods decked out in green.
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Denver, Colorado
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Denver may be a long way from Ireland, but the Mile High City still throws one of the biggest St. Patrick’s Day parades in the country! Each year, Denver puts on a monumental four-hour St. Paddy’s parade that draws a crowd of as many as 300,000 people to cheer it on. Taking inspiration from the first parade held back in 1889, the Denver St. Patrick’s Day Parade will get steps off Saturday, March 14 at 9:30 a.m. at 19th and Wynkoop, right near Union Station, and this year’s theme is “Stars, Stripes and Shamrocks.” The most crowded area is south of 20th avenue on Blake Street, where the dancers, bands, etc. stop and give full performances. It’s a crowd pleaser every year, especially for families!
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5
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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Get ready to patty hard in the City of Brotherly Love on Sunday, March 15, 2026, when one of the country’s oldest St. Patrick’s Day parades returns. For more than 250 years, Philly has been presenting the epic cavalcade that now includes more than 20,000 participants. If you want to ease into the day in a more traditional way, there’s also a morning Mass at St. Patrick’s Church before the parade begins, at 20th and Locust Streets. The Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which will kick off at 16th and JFK, will follow at 11 a.m. and is expected to last about three hours before ending at 5th and Market Street.
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Savannah, Georgia
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Apparently, this Georgia city once dyed its river green in 1961 with such underwhelming results that it never tried the effect again. Instead, Savannah makes an annual party of coloring its gorgeous fountains. The city’s 2026 parade starts Tuesday, March 17 at 10:15 a.m. from Gwinnett and Abercorn, immediately following Mass at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, and it remains one of the biggest celebrations in the South. The parade itself is a huge draw, but Savannah also has that extra layer of charm, with its green fountains, historic squares and a whole downtown that seems ready to throw on its Sunday best for the occasion!
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Detroit, Michigan
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Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood knows exactly how to host a
St. Patrick’s Day Parade—and the 68th annual edition returns on Sunday, March 15, 2026. The parade assembles on 6th Street and Michigan Avenue, kicks off at 1 p.m. and heads west on Michigan Avenue to 14th Street, with a Mass at Most Holy Trinity Church earlier in the day. Corktown, which got its name because most of its residents came from County Cork, Ireland, was established in 1834, making it Detroit’s oldest surviving neighborhood. The whole event has a very strong sense of place along with the usual floats, bands and plenty of green!
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Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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A whopping one-fifth of inhabitants in the Steel City consider themselves Irish—and they’re proud to prove it at the annual Pittsburgh St. Patrick’s Day Parade! This year’s event will get underway on Saturday, March 11 at 10 a.m. where hundreds of thousands typically line the route to watch marching units, floats and bands take over the streets. This year also brings a new Parade Day Dash before the main event, so if you like your St. Patrick’s Day with both sneakers and shamrocks, Pittsburgh has you covered!
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San Francisco, California
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San Francisco’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade has a big milestone to celebrate in 2026: it’s the 175th anniversary! The parade returns Saturday, March 14 at 11:30 a.m., traveling from 2nd and Market to Civic Center, and this year’s festivities also tie into America’s 250th birthday. Attendance usually peaks at around 100,000 (a tenth of the Bay Area’s total Irish American population), with more than 100 floats, marching bands, dance troupes, and more delighting the crowds.
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New Orleans, Louisiana
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New Orleans loves a parade in any season, but the Irish Channel St. Patrick’s Day Parade has its own particular brand of chaos! The 2026 parade rolls on Saturday, March 14 at 1 p.m., starting at Felicity and Magazine and finishing at Jackson and Annunciation. And yes, the throws here famously include ingredients for Irish stew, so keep an eye out for flying cabbage, carrots, potatoes and onions along with the beads. Only New Orleans could make produce this festive!
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Cleveland, Ohio
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Cleveland’s downtown parade is back Tuesday, March 17, 2026! It begins at 1:04 p.m. at Superior Avenue and East 18th Street, with opening ceremonies at 12:30 p.m., and the 2026 theme honors 250 years of Irish and Irish American contributions to the United States. It’s the final year on the current historic route before future changes tied to the Cleveland Midway Project, which gives this year’s parade a little extra weight for longtime fans.
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Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee
Kansas City St. Patrick’s Day Parade returns Tuesday, March 17, 2026 at 11:30 a.m., beginning at Linwood and Broadway and heading south to 43rd Street in Westport. This year’s theme is “Irish Kicks in 26: A Celebration of Sport,” which is perfect for a city that already knows how to show up for a parade! It started in 1974 as a much smaller downtown event and has since grown into one of Kansas City’s biggest civic celebrations.
Jill Gleeson is a travel journalist and memoirist based in the Appalachian Mountains of western Pennsylvania who has written for websites and publications including Good Housekeeping, Woman’s Day, Country Living, Washingtonian, Gothamist, Canadian Traveller, and EDGE Media Network. Jill is the travel editor for Enchanted Living. Learn more about her journey at gleesonreboots.com.
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