When you think of cities that pride themselves on St. Patty’s Day celebrations what cities first come to mind? Boston, Chicago, NYC (not sure exactly what NYC does to celebrate but since the city does every other holiday big I figured it does something), Savannah (I have been to Savannah during St. Patrick’s Day so I know firsthand that they throw quite a celebration for the day) and Washington, DC.
Washington, DC, you ask? Yes, believe it or not, I do mean DC. Actually, in such a diverse city with a lot of heritage and culture, it is not too surprising that Washington, DC is the host of several St. Patty’s Day festivities. For families, the highlight of the St. Patty’s Day festivities are both the parades held in Alexandria VA on March 6th this year and Washington DC, called the Nation’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 14th
(http://dc.about.com/od/stpatricksday/a/DCStPatricksDay.htm.)
Additionally, Manassas, VA on March 13th http://www.stpatparade.net/ and Gaithersburg, MD on March 13th http://dc.about.com/od/stpatricksday/a/GaithStPats.htm also host their own St. Patrick’s Day parades. Finally, DC hosts the annual Shamrock Festival, held March 13th which includes activities for the entire family such as 40 live bands representing all genres, carnival rides and games for kids. There is truly something at the Shamrock Festival for everyone. For more information go to http://www.shamrockfest.com/2010/
My favorite is the St. Patrick’s Day parade held in Alexandria, VA, which is a true celebration of the Irish-American heritage. The annual parade, held March 6th goes from 12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. kicks off with a Classic Car Show Competition that begins at 10:00 a.m. followed by a dog show that begins at 10:30 a.m. and concludes just prior to the start of the parade. The parade provides everything you would expect from a St. Patrick’s Day parade to include marching bands, bag pipes bands, Irish dancers decorated in beautiful costumes and plenty of green and orange. However, my favorite part of the parade has to be the marching of what seems like hundreds of Irish Wolf Hounds that are represented in all sizes. The kids really get a kick out of watching these not so common dogs strut their stuff.
One of the best parts about the Alexandria parade is that it is always held the first Saturday in March, which offers a great way to kick of the St. Patty’s Day festivities. Most other local activities take place the following weekend, or the weekend just prior to St. Patrick’s Day. By the time March hits in DC, we are ready to say good-bye to winter. Despite Spring still being a few weeks away, this year in particular us Washingtonians are more than ready to launch into Spring. What better way to get an advanced step on Spring than to get out to the parade in Alexandria? No matter how cold it is, participants will just be happy to be out and about.
The annual event is hosted by the Ballyshaners, a not-for-profit group. For more information about the Ballyshaners go to www.ballyshaners.org or for information about the parade go to http://alexandriava.gov/news_display.aspx?id=30828
Let me know if I have missed any fun and festive St. Patty’s Day activities in the DC area. Not in DC, share your own hometown St. Patrick’s Day traditions, stories and local fun activities.
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