This Saturday, the Bay Area celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with the 173rd annual St. Patrick Day’s Parade. The holiday was also celebrated through festivities such as pub crawls and cultural events.
“To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, I was spirited in green clothing and food,” senior Scarlett Farr said. “I wore green sweatpants, a green bracelet and I purchased a matcha latte,”
The parade rallied a crowd of over 10,000 attendees, beginning at Market Street and moving towards the Civic Center Plaza. The event included a cast of performances from traditional Irish musical acts The Hooks, Omega Rae of Van Morrison’s band, Dublin Soul, Glide Ensemble and the Change Band, according to ABC7 San Francisco.
“I celebrated with my friends who go to a predominantly Irish school,” senior Anisha Hu said. “I loved seeing everyone dressed in green and embracing the community spirit,”
The event was hosted by the United Irish Societies of San Francisco, an Irish Cultural Center dedicated to preserving the rich culture and heritage of Ireland. They host the parade annually, while also hosting festivities such as the Irish-American Crossroads festival, according to the Irish Cultural Center.
“Everyone on social media was wearing green outfits,” senior Sarah Rasic said. “And everyone was dancing which I really enjoyed,”
Parades swept major cities across the country, from New York’s South Shore St. Patrick Day’s Parade to Rhode Island’s Newport St. Patrick Day’s parade. Yet other festivities, such as the annual green dye of the Chicago river, took place, according to NBC Chicago.
The Irish Catholic Holiday St. Patrick’s day was founded in honor of St. Patrick, a patron saint in Ireland, in 1601. Since its origin in Ireland, Irish immigrants have brought the holiday to populated cities in the United States and New York, with the first parade held in Manhattan in 1762, according to Time.
“It’s such a fun holiday, because people get festive in their decorations and it gets really sunny,” Farr said. “It lifts everyone’s mood and it makes everyone so excited for spring.”
