This Georgia Metropolis Is Dwelling to One of many Oldest St. Patrick’s Day within the U.S.

• Savannah, Georgia, is residence to the second-largest St. Patrick’s Day parade within the U.S.
• Based in 1824, the occasion is now 201 years outdated.
• Through the parade, you may count on emerald-colored beer, marching bands, and fountains flowing with inexperienced water.

When individuals consider St. Patrick’s Day parades in the US, locations like New York Metropolis, Boston, or Chicago often come to thoughts. And whereas New York Metropolis has the biggest and oldest St. Patrick’s Day parade within the nation (established in 1762), the second largest belongs to a metropolis a lot smaller in dimension: Savannah.

The Hostess Metropolis of the South celebrated its first St. Patrick’s Day parade in 1824 and has continued to take action each March 17 for the previous 201 years. Not solely is the parade one of many oldest and largest within the nation, but it surely’s additionally the most important celebration of its variety within the U.S. South and a supply of native pleasure.

The historical past of St. Patrick’s Day festivities in Savannah predates Georgia itself. Irish individuals first started arriving within the Savannah space in the course of the early 18th century, quickly turning into a hub of Irish immigration. Within the early 1800s, rich Irish residents shaped the Hibernian Society of Savannah to assist newly arrived Irish immigrants get their toes on the bottom of their new nation. The story goes that on March 17, 1824, the then-president of the Hibernian Society inspired Savannah residents to hitch him on a stroll to listen to a speech by a visiting bishop. That stroll was a parade, and thus, the very first Savannah St. Patrick’s Day parade was born.

Though the modern-day parade is a secular affair, there may be all the time a preparade Mass on the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist, the place pews are crammed with parishioners wearing inexperienced. The parade begins on the Basilica, runs by way of Savannah’s historic district, and ends close to Forsyth Park.

Guests can count on marching bands, horses, and floats sponsored by native Irish teams and households in the course of the occasion. The town’s well-known fountains will move inexperienced, and loads of emerald-colored beer will probably be accessible all through the town. For these touring to Savannah particularly for the event, the year-old Lodge Bardo is as near the parade as you may get. Alternatively, the Perry Lane Lodge and the brand-new, Ann Savannah will put you within the coronary heart of the merrymaking.