Milwaukee Bundles up for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade

The snowy roads of downtown Milwaukee were transformed into streets of leprechauns, Irish dancing and green and gold beads during The Shamrock Club’s 55^th St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Saturday.

The parade started at noon on North MLK Drive and West Wisconsin Avenue, and it ended an hour and a half later on Water Street and Highland Avenue.

Local police and fire departments, street performers, dancers, bands and other community groups marched in the 35 degree weather to celebrate Milwaukee’s Irish heritage and history.

With sparkly green hats on their heads and gold pom-poms in hand, the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies boogied in the streets and teamed up with the Hunger Task Force to collect donations during the parade.

Weather forecasts called for more snow on Saturday, but that didn’t stop thousands of parade-goers from bundling up and experiencing the parade.

Although hats, gloves, and winter jackets were this year’s main St. Patrick’s Day attire, people found ways to incorporate iconic Irish symbolism into their wardrobe.

“This is our third year going to this, and we knew they were calling for snow today,” said Jessica Baker of New Berlin. “We thought it could possibly be rescheduled because of the snow, but it’s actually warmer than last year’s parade!”

Thursday night’s winter storm brought multiple power outages and several inches of snow throughout southeast Wisconsin.

Liz Keller of Franklin had around 10 inches of snow at her home Thursday night.

“I was worried there wouldn’t be a great turnout for the parade, but I didn’t think they would end up canceling it,” said Keller. “We’re hardcore in Wisconsin.”

The Shamrock Club awarded some parade participants for their performances and floats during the parade:

–        Best Marching Unit: The Wisconsin Diamond Dancers

–        Best Musical Unit: The Billy Mitchell Scottish Pipes & Drums

–        Best Float: Westown Association

–        Best Parade Unit: Glencastle Irish Dancers

–        The Thomas J. Smith Award for Best Irish Unit: Bellator Academy of Irish Dance

–        Parade Director’s Award: The Madison Pipes & Drums

After the parade, The Shamrock Club hosted an after-parade party with entertainment ranging from dancing and bands to leprechaun stories for children.

On March 17^th, the Milwaukee County Transit System is partnering with Molson Cores to provide Miller Lite Free Rides to the community. From 6 p.m. through the end of service on St. Patrick’s Day, unlimited free-rides will be provided to passengers.

St. Patrick’s Day commemorates the arrival of Christianity to Ireland and celebrates the Feast Day for Saint Patrick. The first St. Patrick’s Day parade in the United States took place in New York City in 1762, after Irish soldiers in the British Army brought the holiday to America.

The first ever St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Wisconsin took place in March 1843, predating Wisconsin’s statehood. It was the first St. Patrick’s Day Parade celebrated outside of the 13 original colonies.

The Shamrock Club began their parade in 1967, and they don’t have plans on stopping anytime soon.

You can find information on next year’s parade at https://saintpatricksparade.org/