New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade facts for kids

Quick facts for kids NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade
Glucksman Ireland House NYU and NYU Pipes and Drums march in the 2019 NYC St. Patrick's Day Parade
Status	Active
Genre	Parade
Date(s)	17th March
Frequency	Annual
Location(s)	New York City, New York
Country	United States
Years active	263
Inaugurated	March 17, 1762 (1762-03-17)
Next event	March 17, 2022
Participants	150,000
Attendance	2,000,000
Patron(s)	St. Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland.
Organised by	St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Inc
Filing status	501(c)(3) non-profit organization
People	Sean Lane (Parade Chair), Katie Barrett (Parade Vice Chair) and Hilary Beirne (C.A.O, Foundation Chair).
Sponsor	Saint Patrick's Day Foundation, NYC

The New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade is a huge yearly celebration in New York City. It honors Saint Patrick, who is the patron saint of Ireland. The parade also celebrates Irish culture and history.

Thousands of people join the parade. They come from many Irish groups and organizations across New York City. Each group marches with its own special banner.

A special person called the Grand Marshal leads the parade each year. Many groups from New York City's emergency services also march. These include police officers and firefighters. They have strong ties to the Irish community in New York.

These groups include the 69th New York Infantry Regiment, the New York Police Department, and the Fire Department of the City of New York. The New York Correction Department and the New York State Department of Corrections also take part.

Leaders from New York City's government often march too. This includes the city's mayors and council members. Important people from national politics in both the United States and Ireland have also joined.

For the first time ever, the main parade was canceled in 2020 and 2021. This was due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, a small group still marched on March 17, 2020. This was done to keep the parade's long tradition alive. In 2021, a small group of about 120 people marched. The full parade returned on March 17, 2022.

Who Marches in the Parade?

Many different groups join the St. Patrick's Day Parade. They show off their Irish heritage and community spirit. Here are some of the regular participants. This list comes from the 2022 parade, which had 145 groups marching.

Honoring Grand Marshals

Each year, a special person is chosen to be the Grand Marshal of the parade. This person is usually a well-known Irish-American. Or, they might be someone who has done a lot for the Irish-American community.