ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE KICKS-OFF AT 2:00 P.M. ON SATURDAY, MARCH 15 IN DOWNTOWN HARRISBURG; WELL OVER 2,000 MARCHERS EXPECTED
Harrisburg, PA – Mayor Stephen R. Reed and officials from the Harrisburg St. Patrick’s Day Parade Association today announced that the 2008 Harrisburg St. Patrick’s Day Parade will be held on Saturday, March 15, beginning at 2 p.m. Well over 2,000 marchers in nearly 90 parade units will participate in the free event and all are invited to attend.
Reed said the parade theme for this year is "Celebrating Irish Heritage in Pennsylvania". Highlighting the nearly 90 parade units will be several nationally-known bagpipe bands, including the Lochiel Emerald Society Pipes & Drums Band, among others. More than a dozen high school bands and drum and bugle corps will appear, as will numerous floats, marching groups, antique vehicles and fire apparatus.
The Mayor said the Parade route is different than that of the Harrisburg Holiday Parade which is held each November to kick off the Holiday Season. Marchers will line up in several different divisions, each symbolically named for one of Ireland’s four provinces, and will gather behind the Capitol Complex. The parade will begin on Walnut Street, heading west towards Second Street, then turning right onto N. Second Street to North Street, and then turning west on North Street back onto the Capitol Complex where it will disband. The Review Stand for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade will be at N. 2nd and State Streets, rather than on Market Square.
Reed said free parking will be offered at the Harrisburg Parking Authority’s Market Square Garage at N. Second and Chestnut Streets beginning at 11:00 a.m. Free parking will also be available on all non-parade route streets. Other City garages will be open but will be charging their normal event parking fees. Motorists are cautioned against parking on N. Second Street or other parade route streets as vehicles left there Saturday morning will be ticketed and towed.
Parade Director Jim Williams noted that the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, begun several years ago, has steadily grown in size and attendance since. Parade entrants compete in several categories and winners will be presented with their trophies at a special reception slated for sometime in April.
Williams lauded the contributions of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade’s many sponsors for this year, with M&T Bank as the main sponsor and ABC27 News, the Downtown Improvement District and McGrath’s Pub & Restaurant as additional sponsors. Further additional sponsors include the Appalachian Brewing Company, Brick Haus, Ceolta’s Irish Pub & Restaurant, Coakley’s Irish Pub & Restaurant, the Harrisburg Hilton & Towers, James Hess, CPA, Molly Brannigans, O’Reilly’s Irish Pub & Restaurant, The Pep Grill, Tara Station Pub & Restaurant and the Union Deposit Corporation.
For more information on the Harrisburg St. Patrick’s Day Parade, visit the Harrisburg St. Patrick’s Day Parade Association’s website at www.harrisburgirishparade.com.
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