The Luck of the Irish is coming to the St. Charles St. Patrick’s Parade
The St. Charles St. Patrick’s Parade, presented by St. Charles Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, is taking place on Saturday, March 9, along with an array of family-friendly St. Patrick’s-themed activities for individuals to take part in around town.
The downtown festivities kick off at 11. a.m. with the opening ceremony on the 1st Street Plaza (near Gia Mia and McNally’s Irish Pub & Kitchen), in partnership with McNally’s Irish Pub & Kitchen.
The ceremony will feature performances from Irish dancers and bagpipers, along with more entertainment for all to enjoy.
While downtown, visitors can choose to take part in the St. Patrick-themed Scavenger Hunt, sponsored by McGrath Honda of St. Charles.
To participate, individuals will need to locate the city’s hidden shamrocks! Twenty clovers will be hiding around town for visitors to find. Once located, take a photo of yourself with the shamrock, scan the QR code, and submit the photo along with the form found on www.stcalliance.org/shamrockhunt.
The more shamrocks that are found, the more entries participants will get. On Thursday, March 14, three lucky winners will be selected to win (two Pots of Gold are valued at $100, one Pot of Gold is valued at $300), and contacted via email.
At 2 p.m., the St. Patrick’s Parade will step off at Sixth Street and travel down Main Street to conclude at Fourth Avenue.
Visitors will get to experience the sounds of bagpipers, listen to local award-winning marching bands, and watch the elaborate and colorful parade entries all while being surrounded by the Irish-themed excitement.
To capture the memorable time at the St. Patrick’s Parade, there will be a Lucky Photo Station, sponsored by McNally’s Heating & Cooling, located on Riverside Avenue across from Pollyanna Brewing & Distilling.
Individuals are encouraged to take a festive photo and to share them using @stcalliance or @travelstcharles for the chance to be featured on the St. Charles Business Alliance’s social media.
In honor of the St. Patrick’s Celebration, many local businesses will be hosting special sales and promotions. To learn more about promotions taking place, visit www.stcstpatricksparade.com/salesandspecials.
Before all the activities begin downtown, BrewHop Fun Run will be hosting the Shamrockin’ St. Charles 8k and 1 Mile Family Fun Walk at Pottawatomie Park at 10 a.m.
A portion of the proceeds from this event will go to benefit St. Charles Park District Athletics. To find more information and registration, visit www.brewhopfunrun.com.
St. Charles Business Alliance Executive Director Jenna Sawicki is looking forward to this year’s event. “The St. Charles St. Patrick’s Parade is always an exciting tradition and is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate with the community,” Sawicki said. “We hope that everyone is able to come downtown to enjoy all the family-friendly activities taking place, and I encourage everyone to support the amazing local businesses that we have in St. Charles.”
The Presenting Sponsor for the parade is St. Charles Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram. The Partnership Sponsor is McNally’s Irish Pub & Kitchen. Additional sponsors are McGrath Honda of St. Charles, McNally’s Heating & Cooling, Solutions Networking Corporation, Teqworks, Theriault Booth LLC. Attorneys at Law, La Mesa Modern Mexican, The Office Dining & Spirits, and Whiskey Bend.
To find more information on the 2024 St. Charles St. Patrick’s Parade, visit www.stcstpatricksparade.com. For further inquiries, contact the St. Charles Business Alliance at (630) 443-3967.