St. Patrick’s Parade Returns to Downtown Milwaukee on Saturday, March 9th

MILWAUKEE — The Shamrock Club of Wisconsin’s 53rd Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade will make its return to Downtown Milwaukee on Saturday, March 9th at Noon. The parade steps off on Wisconsin Avenue at Old World Third Street and will wind its way through the streets of Downtown Milwaukee.

Building on a successful partnership, the Shamrock Club of Wisconsin and the Westown Association, along with presenting sponsor Miller Lite, are collaborating on Wisconsin’s oldest and largest St. Patrick’s Day celebration. Although the Shamrock Club of Wisconsin is celebrating its 53rd anniversary of producing the parade, the event dates back to 1843. It predates the incorporation of the State of Wisconsin and the City of Milwaukee making it the sixth oldest St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the nation.

This year’s parade will feature over 100 units including Irish dance groups, pipe and drum corps and local celebrities and dignitaries. The Friends of St. Patrick, in partnership with the Hunger Task Force, will collect non-perishable food items during the parade. Volunteers will walk the parade route with grocery carts to collect any donations.

Along with the parade, the Westown Association has planned a week of Irish entertainment and celebrations. The schedule is as follows:

• Lunch Time Entertainment: Stone Creek Coffee, 275 W. Wisconsin Avenue, 2^nd Street Skywalk: 11:30am-1pm
  • Wednesday, March 6^th: Ian Gould
  • Thursday, March 7^th: Michael Tinker Tierney
  • Friday, March 8^th: Beglan Academy of Irish Dance (161 West Wisconsin Ave, 2^nd Floor)
    • 12pm – Press conference featuring local dignitaries
    • 12:30pm – Rock Bottom Bash O’ Corned Beef:  7^th Annual Corned Beef Eating Contest, sponsored this year by Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery – Contestants will duel it out to see who can eat the most corned beef in 10 minutes.
  • Saturday, March 9^th: 11am-2pm- Frogwater
• ShamROCK in Westown: Friday, March 8^th– 5:30-11pm
  • St. Patrick’s Kick-Off Party
  • Miller Time Pub & Grill- 509 W. Wisconsin Avenue
  • Entertainment by Ian Gould & Pat McCurdy
  • Free to the public
  • Announcement of Raffle Winners

• 53rd Annual Shamrock Club of Wisconsin’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade: Saturday, March 9^th -12pm

• 34rd Annual St. Patrick Mass: Saturday March 9^th – 8:30am
  • St. Patrick’s Church, 723 W. Washington St.

• Shamrock Fest 2019: The Most Irish Thing You Can Do! Saturday, March 9^th– 1-7pm
  • Immediately following the Downtown St. Patrick’s Day Parade
  • Irish Cultural & Heritage Center, 2133 W. Wisconsin Avenue
  • Three stages of entertainment plus the Shamrock Kids Club Area
  • 7 bands, 4 dance groups, kids events
  • $8 per person; children under 12 FREE

Due to the number of large events scheduled for March 9th in addition to the St. Patrick’s Parade (Marquette basketball, Milwaukee Bucks, Admirals & Wave etc.), a large volume of people are expected to be in the downtown area all day.  We especially encourage anyone planning to attend the Marquette Men’s basketball game at the Fiserv Forum or Milwaukee Wave game at UW-M Panther Arena, to arrive downtown earlier than usual.

The streets included in the 1.25 mile parade route will close around Noon on March 9th, which may create traffic delays.  Therefore, if driving downtown, create a set plan for parking by using the website Parkmilwaukee.com, which lists many parking options.  Also, guests are encouraged to consider taking advantage of The Avenue’s $3 special parking rate for the parade, or using ride share and public transit (MCTS & The Hop). Detailed information about the parade street closures can be found at http://saintpatricksparade.org/index.php/parking/

For more information on the St. Patrick’s Day Parade activities, please call the Westown Association at (414) 276-6696, email stacie@westown.org or refer to the event web site at www.saintpatricksparade.org.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.

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