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

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• Based in 1824, the occasion is now 201 years outdated.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

When folks consider St. Patrick’s Day parades in the USA, locations like New York Metropolis, Boston, or Chicago normally come to thoughts. And whereas New York Metropolis has the most important and oldest St. Patrick’s Day parade within the nation (it was 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, nevertheless it’s additionally the most important celebration of its type within the South and a supply of native satisfaction.

The historical past of St. Patrick’s Day festivities in Savannah predates Georgia itself. Irish folks first started arriving within the Savannah space in the course of the early 18th century, and shortly turned 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 ft 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 affix him on a stroll to listen to a speech by a visiting bishop. That stroll changed into 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’s at all times preparade Mass on the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist, the place pews are crammed with parishioners wearing inexperienced. The parade then begins on the Basilica, runs via Savannah’s historic district, and ends close to Forsyth Park.

Throughout the occasion, guests can anticipate marching bands, horses, and floats sponsored by native Irish teams and households. The town’s well-known fountains will circulation inexperienced, and loads of emerald-colored beer will likely be out there all through the town. For these touring to Savannah particularly for the event, the year-old Lodge Bardo is as near the parade’s remaining cease as you will get. Alternatively, the Perry Lane Lodge, in addition to the brand-new, Ann Savannah, will put you within the coronary heart of the merrymaking.