The 9th Annual Annapolis St. Patricks Parade returned after a year off with a vengeance. With other area parades canceled, it is rumored that the Annapolis parade is one of the largest on the east coast. And in 2020, it was the largest parade in the world; because as we know, the world seemingly shut down three days later.
The parade, with 108 units kicked off promptly at 1 pm. Military bands, drum and bagpipe bands, fire trucks, Irish step dancers, and plenty of local businesses all marched to a crowd estimated at more than 10,000 that lined the sides of West and Main Streets. The party continued at Susan Campbell Park with Shamrock the Dock featuring live bands, face painting, and more!
All images ©2022 Eye On Annapolis
Many have asked why Annapolis holds a St. Patrick’s parade on March 6th. The easy answer would be because we are a weird little town. But the right answer is a bit more pragmatic. Organizer, John O’Leary realized that as a small parade (way back in 2012) we could never attract the marching units of the other cities like New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, or Washington…because the units would want to be in THOSE parades. Also, our local businesses do pretty well on March 17th without a parade. But moving it up a week–that attracts the units from afar, and gives the local merchants another economic boost in the middle of winter! And coming out of COVID, it was a welcome boost!
And the luck of the Irish, must be with organizer John O’Leary, because he is 9-0 when it comes to spectacular weather. Yesterday was no exception. Some early morning showers moved out and sunshine and 70-degrees awaited the throngs of people just being Irish for the day!
More photos on our All Annapolis Facebook page.
