7 destinations to celebrate st. Patrick’s day

SAVANNAH, GEORGIA Those who’ve been to the Southern port city in the spring know it takes St. Patrick’s Day seriously.  The city kicks off its family-friendly events on March 8 with the

free annual greening of the fountain in downtown Savannah’s Forsyth Park. The annual Tybee Island Irish Heritage Celebration on March 9 is the first St. Patrick’s Day parade of the season.

The Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist will be the starting point for the Celtic Mass and parade to Emmet Park on March 10 as well as the St. Patrick’s Day Mass on March 16. The

200th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade, featuring pipe bands, Irish dancers and more than 350 marching units, follows immediately after. Kansas City, Missouri, will mark its 50th annual

parade on March 17, 2024. Alamy KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI The Kansas City metro area prides itself on family-friendly St. Patrick’s Day events, and this year’s festivities are celebrating

notable anniversaries. North Kansas City’s Snake Saturday Parade (March 16) is celebrating 40 years. The festival that follows includes a carnival, inflatables for kids, a car show and food.

Kansas City’s 50th annual St. Patrick’s Day parade on March 17 is free. Finish celebrations with a visit to Browne’s Irish Marketplace, the oldest business in the United States owned by

Irish immigrants and their descendants. The store has been in business since 1887 and operates a bar and deli. It sells frozen and shelf-stable food imported from Ireland. Organizers of the

Hot Springs, Arkansas, parade measure the route each year to ensure it remains the shortest parade. Visit Hot Springs HOT SPRINGS, ARKANSAS Hot Springs isn’t joking when it claims to throw

the world’s shortest St. Patrick’s Day parade; the route is only 98 feet long. Organizers even measure the route every year to ensure it remains the shortest. The brevity is made up for in

quirkiness. The event attracts celebrity guests such as Cheech Marin, 77, Ralph Macchio, 62, and Alfonso Ribeiro, 52. This year, Forrie J. Smith, 65, who played Lloyd Pierce in

_Yellowstone,_ is the parade starter. Emmitt Smith, 54, the famed Dallas Cowboys running back is the grand marshal. The parade also will feature performances from the Dallas Cowboys

cheerleaders. Prizes for the best-dressed and slowest runners will be awarded at Hot Springs’ Zero-K Race, which encourages participants to get through the 299-foot course as slowly as

possible. A boat parade flows through San Antonio’s River Walk park downtown. Alamy SAN ANTONIO San Antonio doesn’t just dye its river green to mark the holiday. Floats in the parade

literally float on the San Antonio River. River dyeing events take place March 16 and 17. The city’s free boat parade on March 16 flows through the San Antonio’s River Walk park downtown

and features 12 Irish-theme floats, many including bagpipers and other entertainment. The city will have a free artisan show, the Shamrock Shuffle 5K and a music and dance festival on St.

Patrick’s Day weekend.​