If you are looking for ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Georgia, who doesn’t love a parade covered in green? And Georgia cities have a number of parades for the holiday this year.
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The Atlanta St. Patrick's Day Parade steps off at noon on Saturday, March 14, 2020 along Peachtree Street in Midtown. The parade begins near the Woodruff Arts Center and ends near the Fox Theatre. There is also a 5K before the parade.
Who is the grand marshal for the Atlanta St. Patrick’s Day Parade? There are two for 2020, according to the web site: Dave Fitzgerald, former parade chairman, and Paul Kehoe, T.D., Irish government minister with responsibility for defense.
Past grand marshals have been the prime minister of Ireland, Georgia Congressman John Lewis and in 2018 St. Baldrick’s honored kids.
Atlanta Events: More ways to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in Atlanta.
Credit: J Glenn Photography
Credit: J Glenn Photography
If Dublin is more to your Irish tastes, you could travel to Ireland or Ohio. Or just take a ride along I-16 to Dublin, Ga., home of a parade and about 40 events on either side of St. Patrick's Day to mark the day in ways large, small and festive. The Dublin Ga. St. Patrick's Day Parade is 10:30 a.m. in downtown Dublin on Saturday, March 21, 2020, and there is a festival and related activities all weekend.
And some would say New York has nothing better than St. Patrick's Day Parade in Savannah, Georgia's oldest city and long a celebrated center of Irish fun around March 17.
The Savannah parade begins (promptly, organizers say) at 10:15 a.m. on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. And the Savannah parade, after all, is the second largest in the United States.
If your idea of St. Patrick's Day is eating or drinking or just wearing something green, you can do that in many places. Green beer, for example, you could even make at home with some food dye. And we seem to recall that Krispy Kreme served green doughnuts in 2017. Maybe again?
If your travel plans find you NOT in Ireland or Georgia for St. Patrick's Day, here are some other places around the world to celebrate St. Patrick's Day from the website Irish America.
Credit: Hyosub Shin, hshin@ajc.com
Credit: Hyosub Shin, hshin@ajc.com
Last thought: St. Patrick's Day falls, inconveniently, during Lent. Is it a sin to drink green beer — while wearing something green — during Lent? We are reminded of the answer often given by the late Tom Murphy, speaker of the Georgia House, who always tried to finish the Georgia legislative session before St. Patrick's Day so he could go to Savannah: "That is a matter for each and every member to decide for his or her self." Or you could ask the neighborhood priest.
Related: What do shamrocks mean on St. Patrick's Day?
Editor's note: This article bears no connection to St. Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland.
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