Billed as “The Greatest St Patrick’s Day Parade in the Nation”, the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade celebrates the large Irish heritage and clans that resides in the St Paul and Minneapolis area. Look around and seeing a sea of green tells you that the Irish pride runs deep.

The parade starts at Rice Park in Downtown St Paul (5th Street and Market Street) and travels along 5th Street until its end at Mear Park in Lowertown (5th Street and Sibley Street).

The actual parade took about an hour and had representations from all the Irish clans, music (usually bagpipers), dancers, and Irish businesses. There weren’t any floats. The only vehicles were some police cars and a firetruck.

There were a lot of green beads, balls, candy, silly spray, and, funny enough, potatoes, thrown to the audience. This is a fun time for the whole family… despite the chilly wind and low temperature.

After the parade, people were invited to head down to the CHS Field and continue the celebration with the crowning of the 2025 Miss Shamrock and Mr. Pat, music, and, of course, grab a drink from your favorite Irish pub.